Mazmur 58:9-11

58:9 Before the kindling is even placed under your pots, ¹ 

he ²  will sweep it away along with both the raw and cooked meat. ³ 

58:10 The godly ⁴  will rejoice when they see vengeance carried out;

they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

58:11 Then ⁵  observers ⁶  will say,

“Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded! ⁷ 

Yes indeed, there is a God who judges ⁸  in the earth!”

[58:9]  ¹ tn Heb “before your pots perceive thorns.”

[58:9]  ² tn Apparently God (v. 6) is the subject of the verb here.

[58:9]  ³ tn Heb “like living, like burning anger he will sweep it away.” The meaning of the text is unclear. The translation assumes that within the cooking metaphor (see the previous line) חַי (khay, “living”) refers here to raw meat (as in 1 Sam 2:15, where it modifies בָּשָׂר, basar, “flesh”) and that חָרוּן (kharun; which always refers to God’s “burning anger” elsewhere) here refers to food that is cooked. The pronominal suffix on the verb “sweep away” apparently refers back to the “thorns” of the preceding line. The image depicts swift and sudden judgment. Before the fire has been adequately kindled and all the meat cooked, the winds of judgment will sweep away everything in their path.

[58:10]  ⁴ tn The singular is representative here, as is the singular from “wicked” in the next line.

[58:11]  ⁵ tn Following the imperfects of v. 10, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates a result or consequence of what precedes.

[58:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “man.” The singular is representative here.

[58:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “surely [there] is fruit for the godly.”

[58:11]  ⁸ tn The plural participle is unusual here if the preceding אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is here a plural of majesty, referring to the one true God. Occasionally the plural of majesty does take a plural attributive (see GKC 428-29 §132.h). It is possible that the final mem (ם) on the participle is enclitic, and that it was later misunderstood as a plural ending. Another option is to translate, “Yes indeed, there are gods who judge in the earth.” In this case, the statement reflects the polytheistic mindset of pagan observers who, despite their theological ignorance, nevertheless recognize divine retribution when they see it.