1 Do you indeed speak justly, you mighty? ♦
Do you rule the peoples with equity?
2 With unjust heart you act throughout the land; ♦
your hands mete out violence.
3 The wicked are estranged, even from the womb; ♦
those who speak falsehood go astray from their birth.
4 They are as venomous as a serpent; ♦
they are like the deaf adder which stops its ears,
5 Which does not heed the voice of the charmers, ♦
and is deaf to the skilful weaver of spells.
6 Break, O God, their teeth in their mouths; ♦
smash the fangs of these lions, O Lord.
7 Let them vanish like water that runs away; ♦
let them wither like trodden grass.
8 Let them be as the slimy track of the snail, ♦
like the untimely birth that never sees the sun.
9 Before ever their pots feel the heat of the thorns, ♦
green or blazing, let them be swept away.
10 The righteous will be glad when they see God’s vengeance; ♦
they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 So that people will say,
‘Truly, there is a harvest for the righteous; ♦
truly, there is a God who judges in the earth.’
Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England, material from which is included here,
is copyright © The Archbishops' Council 2000 and published by Church House Publishing.
Download the Reflections on the Psalms app
