1 Is it righteousness you speak, when you keep silent? Do you judge with equity, you sons of men?
2 No; in your heart you work out wrongs, and in the land you deal out the violence of your hands.
3 The wicked are alienated from the womb; from birth they wander off, speaking lies.
4 Their poison is like the poison of a snake, like a deaf adder that shuts its ear,
5 which will not listen to the voice of the enchanters, of the one who casts spells with skill.
6 O God, smash the teeth in their mouths; break off the jaw-teeth of the young lions, O LORD.
7 Let them melt away like waters that flow off; when he aims his arrows, let them be as though blunted.
8 Like a slug that melts as it moves along, let them pass away; like a woman's miscarriage, may they not see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the thorns, whether raw or burning, he will whirl them away.
10 The righteous one will rejoice when he sees vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then men will say, "Truly there is fruit for the righteous; truly there is a God who judges in the earth."