¹ Do you indeed speak justly, O rulers?
Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men?

² No, in your hearts you devise injustice;
with your hands you mete out violence on the earth.

³ The wicked are estranged from the womb;
the liars go astray from birth.

⁴ Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
like a cobra that shuts its ears,

⁵ refusing to hear the tune of the charmer
who skillfully weaves his spell.

⁶ O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths;
O LORD, tear out the fangs of the lions.

⁷ May they vanish
like water that runs off;
when they draw the bow,
may their arrows be blunted.¹

¹ Or when they are trodden down, may they wither like grass

⁸ Like a slug that dissolves in its slime,
like a woman’s stillborn child,
may they never see the sun.

⁹ Before your pots can feel the burning thorns—
whether green or dry—
He will sweep them away.

¹⁰ The righteous will rejoice
when they see they are avenged;
they will wash their feet
in the blood of the wicked.

¹¹ Then men will say,
“There is surely a reward for the righteous!
There is surely a God who judges the earth!”