God Judges the Earth

¹Do you indeed speak justly, O rulers? Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men? ²No, in your hearts you devise injustice; with your hands you mete out violence on the earth.

³The wicked are estranged from the womb; the liars go astray from birth. ⁴Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like a cobra that shuts its ears, ⁵refusing to hear the tune of the charmer who skillfully weaves his spell.

⁶O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths; O LORD, tear out the fangs of the lions. ⁷May they vanish like water that runs off; when they draw the bow, may their arrows be blunted. ⁸Like a slug that dissolves in its slime, like a woman’s stillborn child, may they never see the sun.

⁹Before your pots can feel the burning thorns— whether green or dry— He will sweep them away. ¹⁰The righteous will rejoice when they see they are avenged; they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked. ¹¹Then men will say, “There is surely a reward for the righteous! There is surely a God who judges the earth!”