Psalm 58 – Yahweh, the righteous and compassionate judge, is in control

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119:105)

Psalm 58 (NIV)

For the director of music. [To the tune of] “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.

1  Do you rulers indeed speak justly?
          Do you judge uprightly among men?
2  No, in your heart you devise injustice,
          and your hands mete out violence on the earth.
3  Even from birth the wicked go astray;
          from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.
4  Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
          like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,
5  that will not heed the tune of the charmer,
          however skilful the enchanter may be.

Complaint 
about ungodly,
evil rulers who 
use violence 
to control the 
people.

6  Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;
        tear out, O LORD, the fangs of the lions!
7  Let them vanish like water that flows away;
        when they draw the bow, let their arrows be blunted.
8  Like a slug melting away as it moves along,
        like a stillborn child, may they not see the sun.

Demand that 
Yahweh return 
violence for 
violence and 
wipes them out.

9  Before your pots can feel [the heat of] the thorns –
        whether they be green or dry – the wicked will be swept away.
10 The righteous will be glad when they are avenged,
         when they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then men will say, "Surely the righteous still are rewarded;
        surely there is a God who judges the earth."

Expectation that 
Yahweh will act 
as demanded 
and thus reward 
'the righteous.'

Notes

1. In NIV and many other translations Psalm 58 is set out in these three stanzas that relate to the subject matter as defined by the translators: an outline of the complaint, demand for Yahweh’s intervention to violently solve the problem and an expectation that Yahweh will act to vindicate ‘the righteous’ who are presumably the writer and his friends.

2. It is an example of a lament in which the psalmist complains about evil rulers – with good cause from what is described – but then goes on to demand of Yahweh that he respond with equally violent retribution. It is this demand that makes the psalm so distressing as it is diametrically opposed to the Bible’s teaching about patience in suffering, forgiving others and trusting God.

3. The psalm is addressed to God as Yahweh (LORD), the name God revealed to Moses for him to use. 

4. Lament psalms are not just complaints, however. They also contain a protestation of hope and trust in God and usually a request for help. The following table identifies these components.

5. The complaint (1-5) takes up nearly half of the psalm. It refers concisely and clearly to the violent injustice experienced by the people and likens the rulers to an out of control performing cobra. This simile adds poignancy and a sense of despair to what is otherwise a calm and clear description of the complaint.

6. The psalmist’s request for help (6-9), in contrast, jars and shocks for he rudely and impolitely makes demands of God and not requests. He demands violent retribution and the total annihilation of his antagonists. The use of further word pictures gives an impression of someone who is overwhelmed not so much with suffering but with anger and a passionate desire for revenge against the perpetrators of their suffering.

7. The statement of trust in God (10-11) is qualified with an expectation that God will understand, agree with and accept the demand for violent retribution that suggests the psalmist cannot contemplate any possibility of rejection. That is appalling behaviour. How dare anyone speak to Yahweh, the Almighty Creator and Saviour in such a way?

8. This comes across as an unpleasant psalm. It is angry, focusses on retribution and there is no hint of forgiveness and understanding. It lacks any godly virtues. Some might wonder why it is in Scripture.[1]

9. However, it is a lament. As such it is not teaching us how to behave but expresses how we actually do behave when we are in a situation of overwhelming loss and grief that damages us to the core of our being. It is embarrassing to admit but some of us will recognise that when we have been under intense pressure and despair we too have made rude and aggressive demands of our God and Saviour and have had something less than a loving and forgiving attitude to those who have hurt us.

10. The Journey of Grief[2] is better known now than ever it used to be. We all go on it as we learn to live through crises, cope with and overcome the trauma caused by those crises and survive resiliently to find life again, even ‘life in all its fullness’ (John 10:10, GNB). There is a new beginning as God brings us through. The memories remain but the hurts are healed.

11. Psalm 58 provides a window through which we can see into one stage of the psalmist’s personal Journey of Grief. It is an early stage[3] featuring anger, blame and desire for revenge; but the whole journey is not in view. Other lament psalms (for example Psalms 5, 13, 27, 79, 88 and 137) provide other windows into various aspects of the Journey of Grief.

12. There is more to learn, for to understand the psalm even better we need to appreciate how it was constructed in the original Hebrew. We can expect new insights as the structure of the psalm is the psalmist’s design and is a significant contribution to the meaning and message of the psalm.

Psalm 58

Yahweh, the righteous and compassionate judge, is in control

13. Hebrew poetry is arranged in lines that have two, and sometimes three parts with the subsequent parts, that are inset, repeating, contrasting or developing the first. Lines may stand alone but sometimes are combined with other lines that promote the one idea. ‘Strophe’ is the term that describes this basic unit however many lines it has, but each strophe focusses on one idea. That idea needs to be identified to be able to understand the meaning of the psalm. In the psalm as laid out above the third column contains the idea in the related strophe.

14. The second key feature of Hebrew poetry is parallelism in which the idea in a strophe is in parallel with another strophe by either repeating, contrasting or developing the one idea, just as happens within individual lines. Parallelism between strophes is not random. There is a pattern. In Psalm 58 there is a chiasmus, from the Greek for ‘crossing,’ in which the key strophe, marked with X, is in the centre and matching strophes are on either side in the order: A-B-C-D-X-D1-C1-B1-A1.

15. Stanza 1 is a complaint about human rulers (strophes A, B) who are unjust and treat with violence those who look to them for leadership in maintaining justice in their community.

16. The psalmist seems to know these judges’ background (strophe C) and is aware that their unfair attitude has been a life-long character trait. He despairs, as he senses that they are out of control. He can see no way of changing the situation. However, this could be an emotive statement, for ‘from birth …from the womb,’  cannot be factually true. I guess he means, ‘it feels as if they have behaved like this since childhood.’  It is hyperbole, a figure of speech that uses exaggeration to make a point. Whatever meaning this line had for the original readers, for us it emphasises the severity of their suffering. It had lasted a long time. There had never been a hint of compassion or understanding for those who were under this cruel regime. Lying was second nature to these rulers.

17. These unjust rulers remind the psalmist of a snake, a cobra, whose venom can cause death within minutes. Cobras and other poisonous snakes were in the countryside[4] and were a well known and frightening threat (Deuteronomy 32:33, Psalm 91:13, Isaiah 11:8) yet snake charmers were able to train them to perform to music. Scientists tell us that cobras do not have outer ears so cannot hear, but they do have inner ears that respond to vibration and they may also respond to visual signals. This is an aside, but it is to make the point that the Bible is not written with modern scientific knowledge – it is written within the belief system, knowledge and understanding of the writer’s culture and experience. This is phenomenological language – it is a description based on the perspective of the writer.

18. Strophe D is a simile, a word picture, that enables the writer to express information and emotions that are otherwise hard to express. This simile would have resonated with the reader and singers who were the first users of this psalm. They would have known from their community’s stories, even if not from personal observations, of the risk there was to the snake charmer’s life, and the lives of those he was entertaining, if he lost control of his snake. Imagination is stirred. Readers will feel the fear, distrust, uncertainty and anxiety that they personally connect with this imagery but now, through this psalm, those same feelings are connected to their evil rulers. That is the power of figures of speech.

19. This simile develops the point of strophe C that the rulers were uncontrollable so could not be trusted. They were dangerous as they could unexpectedly and suddenly attack, damaging and destroying whoever they picked on.

20. Notice that strophes A and B are addressed to ‘you rulers’ but strophes C and D are a commentary about them. I have puzzled about this change in perspective and have noticed it occurs not uncommonly in other psalms too. So far, I do not think it is of any interpretive significance.

21. The ideas developed in these individual strophes contribute to the theme of Stanza 1 that these ungodly rulers have uncontrollable power.

22. Stanza 2 is the single line strophe X in the centre. It contains the core teaching point of the psalm so before considering that, we need to look at the latter part of the psalm, Stanza 3.

23. The strophes of stanza 3 are laid out in reverse order so start with four similes that contrast with the cobra simile of strophe D. These describe four natural phenomena that indicate the fleeting nature of life.

24. The first is about water that perhaps has been spilt. In the Mediterranean climate with long, hot, rainless summers, water would soon evaporate or be quickly absorbed into the ground. The imagery could also relate to the perennial rivers that only flow in the short rainy winter months. Life is fleeting.

25. The imagery of the slug needs to be understood phenomenologically as slugs in the shadeless sun will easily dry out, shrivel up and disappear as they do not have a protective shell. All they leave is a fading mucus trail. Life is fleeting.

26. The fourth simile making the same point has the added impact of the emotional distress incurred when a pregnancy ends with a miscarriage or stillbirth. No theology of life can be inferred from this statement. Its only purpose is to illustrate that life is fleeting.

27. I have left the second simile to the last as it seems to break the imagery pattern. Commentators find ‘when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short,’ difficult to explain.[5] The most satisfactory explanation seems to lie in alternative translations such as, ‘like grass let them be trodden down and wither’ (NRSV) or ‘may they be crushed like weeds on a path.’ (GNB).[6] They fit better with the parallel similes and the message of this strophe that life is fleeting so in the analysis of the poetic structure above I have adopted the NRSV version.

28. Strophe D1 parallels strophe D in using similes that contradict the apparent uncontrollable power of evil rulers making clear that as far as Yahweh is concerned the rulers’ power is short lived and insignificant. That is a powerful lesson for us all to take to heart and it comes across so powerfully because it is presented in similes.

29. A similar message is in strophe C1 in a metaphor that describes a cooking pot on a fire of wood that takes very little time to warm up whether dry wood or freshly cut (green) wood that is full of sap is used. The wood would be low grade wood such as thorn, that was useless for anything else.

30. The point of the metaphor is clear from ‘the wicked will be swept away.’ This emphasises that from God’s perspective these evil people are as nothing. That contrasts starkly with the psalmist’s human perspective, as he sees them as invulnerable (strophe C) from their apparent lifelong history of being uncontrollable.

31. The evil rulers’ injustice and cruel violence in strophe B is paralleled with the vengeance that the psalmist believes God will mete out in strophe B1. The rulers’ cruelty will be turned back on them so it will become their turn to suffer a blood bath of revenge.

32. The psalmist believes this will be a message noted by observant watchers – perhaps the ‘men’ of strophe A1 are the neighbouring nations who would recognise thereby that Yahweh is a true and just God who judges fairly and who does take care of his people, ‘the righteous’ (strophes B1 and A1).

33. Kidner[7] has a helpful insight about these men for the words the psalmist gives them to say in strophe A1 uses ‘god’ (elohim) as a plural word whereas the Bible always treats it as singular when speaking of the true God. So yes, these men are the surrounding heathen nations; it could even refer to humankind as a whole.

34. Their statement recalls to mind Isaiah 45:18-25 especially verse 23, ‘Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.’ That is quoted in Romans 14:11 and is echoed in Philippians 2:10-11:

… at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

35. Whatever happens in life, however bad our troubles might be we should see them in the light of this truth about the God whom we worship and serve.

36. But is the psalmist really concerned about Yahweh’s honour and reputation or is he being deceitful and insincere? Notice that he assumes that Yahweh will act according to his own demands which are all about revenge (strophes B1, X). Strophe A1 is in reality a bargaining ploy. The psalmist suggests that if Yahweh responds as he demands, it will result in the surrounding nations acknowledging Yahweh as the true God of righteousness and justice. Such a ploy is a recognised feature of the first stage of the Journey of Grief. It appears also in Psalm 79, notes 10-15.

37. The poetic balance in strophes A-A1 is there, so this is likely to be what the psalmist intended even though it contradicts God’s character that is displayed in both the Old and New Testaments (e.g. Hosea 11:1-11 and 2 Peter 3:8-9). The main point though, is the comparison between the unjust ungodly rulers of strophe A and Yahweh of strophe A1 who, being responsible for judging the earth, rewards the righteous so is undoubtedly righteous too.

38. The theme of Stanza 3, is set in contrast to Stanza 1 for it proclaims that Yahweh, the righteous judge has greater power and authority than all the ungodly rulers.

39. Psalm 58 then comes to its climax in Stanza 2 that recognises that Yahweh is the only one able to inflict retribution.

40. Stanza 2 reiterates the same vengeful message of Stanza 3 in horrifyingly blunt words. It sits most uncomfortably with our Christian understanding of how we should respond to suffering and injustice. However, we must understand this psalm is NOT teaching how we should respond to injustice.

41. Rather, it is expressing the passion and hurt even godly people feel when they experience or see injustice, suffering or even milder forms of hurt. Human beings are complex people and we ARE made in the image of God. (Remember how often in Scripture God is said to be angry – it is more than 200 times.[8]) Lament psalms teach us that we should not ignore, devalue or suppress such emotions. However, they are only ONE aspect of a response to injustice. They need to be balanced with a clear understanding of Yahweh’s role and a commitment to trust in Yahweh and follow his ways however dark, lonely and impossible the situation appears to be. The balance in Psalm 58 comes in strophe A1 that acknowledges Yahweh as a God of justice and understanding who wants to be known, even though its teaching is undermined by the psalmist’s demands about how it should be expressed.

42. When believers go through severe crises of loss they may be shocked at their reaction of anger and desire for retribution and violent punishment of the perpetrators of their suffering. Shame may then be added into their shock and may lead to a sense that they have committed the unforgiveable sin.

43. They may wonder, for example if Hebrews 6:4-6 applies to them:

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

My response is: absolutely not.

44. Falling away, in this text, is about a clear rejection of God and his ways – ‘deliberately keep on sinning’ (Hebrews 10:26) is a comparable text. However, in a crisis, any antagonism toward God is primarily a reaction to that crisis and, contradictorily, may well be accompanied by fervent prayer even if only, ‘Why, God? Where are you?’ It is not a falling away.

45. In this stage the writer is focussed on the past, the memories of his dreadful experiences, but it will move in time to focus on his present condition that will feature despair and hopelessness (Psalm 88) before moving on so he is able to contemplate a future. From there he will be able to reflect on his life experiences and see them in a new light (Psalms 91 and 147).

46. Psalm 58 allows us a glimpse into a phase of life that is common in all societies throughout history and still is prevalent today. We can learn from the psalmist’s experience, not as a lesson to follow, but as a reminder of our common humanity and the reality of Yahweh’s presence, interest in our well-being and care even when our life situation is appallingly bad and we respond with intemperate anger and self-centredness.

47. However bad our circumstances may be, however powerful the opposition, it is possible to live through these troubles and survive with faith intact as we have the assurance that Yahweh, the Creator and our Saviour is in control.

48. And yet this faith is mixed up in this psalm with toxic aggression – even if it is only expressed in the psalmist’s thoughts and imagination. This does not fit with the Bible’s teaching about holiness in practice as well as in attitude, perseverance in suffering, the need to forgive wholeheartedly and search for reconciliation. They are clearly taught elsewhere in Scripture so what need is there to repeat them here?

49. Instead Psalm 58’s focus is limited to providing insights into the feelings and attitudes of a godly person who is going through intense suffering. He is traumatised. His faith in Yahweh holds firm but his trauma is expressed in his reaction. He is powerless to take his own vengeance on his evil rulers so he transfers to Yahweh his wishes and demands.

50. There are no clues about the actual incident(s) that caused the circumstances that gave rise to this psalm. Nor do we know how the story ended. Did circumstances change so the psalmist was able to find a way to indulge in his bloody retribution? Did he end his life in bitterness, eaten up by his impotent anger, angry with Yahweh and the world? Did he move on in the Journey of Grief and find inner healing, peace and purpose? We do not know, but each is a possible outcome for the psalmist. It is for us too, when we are in such a parlous situation.

51. Other psalms are set in later stages of the Journey of Grief and they too are snapshots of one stage in the Journey and are not linked to what caused the incident nor are they related to what followed. But each has a message that will help us as we too go through bad experiences that cause us trauma.

52. I have assumed throughout this study that the writer counted himself as one of the ‘righteous’ of strophes B1 and A1 (note 1) but as I was finishing this study I noticed the ‘your’ in strophe C1. Who could he be referring to? It does not appear to be the wicked rulers, the ‘you’ of stanza 1. The context suggests it is the ‘righteous’ of  strophes B1 and A1 and I am aware from other psalms that it is not uncommon for you’s and they’s to be conflated in Hebrew poetry.

53. The writer, therefore, could be someone independent of those described as ‘righteous’ so he may not himself have been through the injustice, lies and violence they had experienced. Is he a nameless observer? Or could he be David, if being named in the heading is intended to mean he is the author, speaking about the trauma other people are experiencing?

54. Whoever he is, he writes passionately about the suffering the righteous had experienced and even more passionately about the retribution he would like to see inflicted.

55. In trauma healing ministry this is called ‘secondary trauma.’[9] The sufferer has not experienced the bad experiences personally but has seen what happened or has heard graphic details. Because of their compassion and care they have absorbed the information into their psyche and then suffered along with those who have been through the traumatising experiences. This is a significant risk for anyone involved in caring for others including those who provide a trauma healing service. Because of this, every trauma healing training course has a ‘Caring for the Caregiver’ session.

56. It is by no means certain that the psalmist was referring to secondary trauma but its insights and teachings can certainly be applied to such circumstances.

57. But notice, the psalm has no ‘answers’ as we might expect it to have or would want. No quick-fix. No clever answers. Except there is the best answer of all!

58. As the psalm teaches: there is a God who will judge righteously. The evil, inconsiderate, untruthful powers that seem to dominate the world whether internationally or even in our own community are as nothing to Yahweh, the Almighty Creator and Saviour, whose people we are.

59. On that we rest. In Yahweh we trust.

60. The theme, therefore, of Psalm 58 is, ‘Yahweh is in control.’ I came to this conclusion only in the last few weeks. Previously, I had it listed as, ‘Demand for retribution.’ My mistake was that I was focussing on the narrative aspects of the psalm and not its message and meaning. This change of emphasis assuages the distaste and horror the psalm engenders at first reading. I now understand something about why the psalmist writes the way he does.

61. The psalmist writes from the bitterness induced by his experiences so his trauma explains why he wants and expects Yahweh to inflict violent retribution on the ungodly leaders and why he expresses his distress and horror in impotent rage. This is human nature speaking. It is not a reflection of Yahweh’s character or attitude.

62. Although,

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17),

this does not mean every word of Scripture is an expression of how God wants us to behave. Psalm 58 is an example of how scripture has a role in ‘rebuking and correcting’ but not in ‘training in righteousness, ‘for in Psalm 58 the psalmist’s grief leads to a distortion of his appreciation of Yahweh’s character and role.

In case you are wondering

63. The NIV title of Psalm 58 does not help much in our understanding of the psalm. It seems to consist of musical directions and with ‘of David’ it seems to indicate that David was the author – though that could mean something like ‘in the style David used.’

64. There are no clues to enable the psalm to be linked to any particular episode in David’s life – or to any other biblical character.

65. Using alternative translations to NIV may cause some confusion as a significantly different word or phrase may be used instead of ‘rulers’ (strophe A). ‘Rulers’ translates ayil meaning a ram, a male sheep, especially in the context of being an aggressive protector of his flock, so on the five occasions it is used of humans it is translated as leader or ruler[10] (also in GNB). This is implied in the paraphrased versions TLB, Message, NLB and TEV. However, some translations have the word elem instead of ayil (in Latin script these words do not look alike but apparently they do in Hebrew script) and is translated as congregation (KJV), mighty ones (Amplified, CEV), gods (NASB, RSV) or silent ones (NKJV) as elem is related to the much commoner elohim meaning God, gods, angels or human beings with authority and power.[11] Because of this some commentaries consider Psalm 58 to be about spiritual forces, angels or superintending spirits rather than human rulers.[12] However, the meaning of the psalm proposed in this paper points to ‘rulers’ being an apt and satisfactory translation.

Endnotes

[1] It is excluded from the Catholic ‘Litany of the Hours’ and Augustine and others used it to justify verbal attacks on Jews, according to Erich Zenger, A God of Vengeance? Understanding the Psalms of Wrath, trans. By Linda M. Maloney (Louisville, KY, Westminster John Knox Press, 1996) pp. 34-36.

[2] Frank Cole, The Stages of Grief, Stress Selfcare: Controlling the Pressures and Cares of Life, <https://stress-selfcare.co.uk/the-stages-of-grief/> [11 Jan 2022], Diane Langberg, Suffering and the Heart of God: How Trauma Destroys and Christ Restores, (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2015) pp. 159-183.

[3] Dana Ergenbright, and others, Healing the Wounds of Trauma: How the Church Can Help – Stories from Africa, (Participant Book for Healing Groups), revised edn (Philadelphia, PA: SIL International and American Bible Society, 2021) pp.36-40.

[4] G. S. Cansdale, ‘Animals,’ in The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, ed. by J. D. Douglas and others, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1980) p. 64.

[5] Walter Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms, (Augsburg, MI: Augsburg Old Testament Studies, 1984) p. 261 and Willem A. Vangemeren, ‘Psalms’ in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol 5 Revised Ed, ed. by Trumper Longman III & David E. Garland, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008) p. 468.

[6] Derek Kidner says that verse 7, ‘yields no sense as it stands’ and prefers the NRSV translation. Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72, (Aylesbury: IVP Academic, 2008) p. 227.

[7] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72, (Aylesbury: IVP Academic, 2008) p. 228.

[8] For examples see 2 Chronicles 24:18 and Hebrews 3:7-19.

[9] Diane Langberg, Suffering and the Heart of God: How Trauma Destroys and Christ Restores, (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2015) pp. 318-328 and Judith Lewis Herman, Trauma and Recovery: The aftermath of violence – from domestic abuse to political terror, (New York; Basic Books, 1997) pp. 140-147.

[10] Edward W. Goodrick, and John R. Kohlenberger III, The Strongest NIV Exhaustive Concordance (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1990) p. 1364.

[11] Willem A. Vangemeren, ‘Psalms’ in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol 5 Revised Ed, ed. by Trumper Longman III & David E. Garland, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008) p. 466.

[12] Walter Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms, (Augsburg, MI: Augsburg Old Testament Studies, 1984) p. 260-261, R. E. O. White, A Christian Handbook to the Psalms, (Exeter: The Paternoster Press, 1884) p.92-3, Willem A. Vangemeren, ‘Psalms’ in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol 5 Revised Ed, ed. by Trumper Longman III & David E. Garland, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008) p. 446.

Written: 11 September 2021

Published: 19 December 2022

Updated: 10 November 2023