Chapter Fifty-Seven

The psalm was written by David during the beginning of the preparation of Absalom’s revolt, when he could observe in Jerusalem both the degree of animosity of his enemies against him (Ps 57:4-5) and the beginning of disorder in life: they (the enemies) were abusing their authority.

You judges act unjustly, for you always commit wickedness (2–3). These judges are ungodly; from birth they love evil and are incapable of reform, as an asp cannot be charmed by enchantments (4–6). Crush, O Lord, their strength, make them harmless and scatter them (7–10). Then the righteous will rejoice from the consciousness that there is God judging on earth! (11–12)

Psalm 57:2. Do you indeed speak righteousness, you judges? And do you judge justly, O children of mankind? It is known that Absalom sought to dispose the Hebrews toward himself by pointing out those injustices which he alleged David was permitting because of his inability to govern the people and his lack of love for them. Since the ingratiating words of Absalom had their effect, the popularity of him and his followers grew, while David’s influence diminished. Power thus gradually and de facto passed to the side of unrecognized and unlawful rulers. How the latter conducted affairs is clarified further.

Psalm 57:3. You devise injustice in your heart; you put on the scales the wickedness of your hands upon the earth. “To devise injustice in your heart” means to love and harbor evil, to be internally disposed toward what is wrong. “To put on the scales wickedness”—to tilt the scale of justice, to outweigh righteousness with an evil deed. An evil deed in judicial decisions results from guidance in the examination of a case not by the essence of the act but by outside considerations, as for instance bribery. A bribe, as a dishonorable deed and wickedness, tilted the judge’s scales.

Psalm 57:5. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent, like a deaf asp that stops its ears Psalm 57:6. and does not hear the voice of the charmer, the most skilled in enchantments. The corruption of these new judges is so great that they are inaccessible to the reception of what is good and honorable. They resemble serpents, like an asp, which does not yield to the influence of the best enchanters of the East, who by whispers and whistlings were able to bewitch even the most venomous of them so that they became powerless to strike.

Psalm 57:7. O God! crush their teeth in their mouth; break, O Lord, the jaws of the lions! “To crush their teeth,” “to break their jaws” means to take away that by which ferocious animals are especially strong, that is, to remove the power of the ungodly to cause harm.

Psalm 57:9. Let them vanish like a snail melting away; like the miscarriage of a woman, may they not see the sun. “Let them vanish like a melting snail,” which, as it comes out of its shell, becomes defenseless not only against wild beasts or birds but even against insects. “May they not see the sun like a miscarriage”—may their influence not be established, may it have no success and no predominance, as harmless as a stillborn child.

Psalm 57:10. Before your pots feel the heat of the thorns, whether fresh or burned, may a whirlwind sweep them away. The destructive effect of the ungodly is compared with a pot in which food is ordinarily cooked. To heat the pot requires material, which especially comes from dry thorns or dry brush. The dry or burned thorns are the evil desires of the ungodly. Insofar as these desires find application and actual expression in deeds, the pot is heated, the amount of harm they cause increases, and David petitions the Lord not to give the ungodly the strength and ability to cause harm but to scatter them.

Psalm 57:11. The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will wash his feet in the blood of the ungodly. “He will wash his feet in the blood of the ungodly”—an image taken from military operations when the earth is soaked with the blood of the defeated and persecuted enemies over which (the earth) their victors pursue them. The meaning of the expression is: may the ungodly perish and the righteous remain victorious.

Psalm 57:12. And a person will say: “Truly there is a reward for the righteous! Surely there is a God who judges on the earth! The ruin of the ungodly will strengthen in people the consciousness that “there is a God who judges on the earth!” which will incite them to hold fast to righteousness and to struggle against wickedness, expecting protection and strengthening from God, who watches over the earth.