Verse 1
"To the chief musician, Al-Tashchet, of David, a Michtam."
"Al-Tashchet" (Do Not Destroy) is the name of an old melody, and "Michtam" is a precious kind of psalm.
This is the heading of the psalm, a song written by David.
It carries the same name as Psalm 57 and hints at a background of danger from which the song rises.
Verse 2
"Do you truly speak justice, do you judge people with fairness?"
David challenges the judges with a piercing question.
Are your words truly just, and do you judge people honestly?
The very question reveals that the answer is no, and even silence in the face of wrong becomes part of the injustice.
Verse 3
"No, in heart you work injustice; on earth your hands deal out violence."
Not only do they fail to judge fairly, in their hearts they plan wrong.
And in action, their hands measure out violence across the land.
The evil here is not random but cold and calculated.
Verse 4
"The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies."
David describes the wicked as those who turned from the good path at the very start of life.
From birth they speak lies, as if evil were rooted in them from the beginning.
It is a stark picture of corruption that has become second nature.
Verse 5
"Their venom is like the venom of a serpent, like a deaf cobra that stops its ear."
The poison of the wicked is compared to the venom of a dangerous snake.
They are like a deaf cobra that seals its own ear on purpose.
No word of rebuke ever manages to reach them.
Verse 6
"That will not heed the voice of charmers, the most skillful caster of spells."
The cobra is so closed off that it ignores even the most skillful and expert charmer.
So too the wicked shut their hearts to every word of rebuke and repair.
For one who has chosen not to listen, no voice can get through.
This part holds up a sharp mirror to everyone who holds power and authority. David refuses to accept injustice that hides behind beautiful words, and he demands that judgment be true and upright. This call, written thousands of years ago, still echoes in every generation where justice must stand against power, and it reminds us that real truth is never afraid to ask the hardest questions.