Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?
Psalm 58 is a prophetic psalm in which God declares the punishment that will come upon the wicked. Its opening challenge is not a prayer shaped by personal feeling against them. It questions rulers and judges who profess to speak righteousness and to judge uprightly. It exposes them for allowing injustice to be established by law while making that profession. Such official judgments are especially malignant because they give injustice the force of law.
Psalm 58 is a prophetic psalm in which God declares the punishment that will come upon the wicked. Its opening challenge is not a prayer shaped by personal feeling against them. It questions rulers and judges who profess to speak righteousness and to judge uprightly. It exposes them for allowing injustice to be established by law while making that profession. Such official judgments are especially malignant because they give injustice the force of law.