Psalms 58:10
The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
Study Note
Study Note
The psalmist's declaration that 'the righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked' is one of the most disturbing imprecatory passages in the Psalter and has generated centuries of interpretive controversy. The verse reflects a world in which justice was so rare and oppression so total that divine retribution was experienced as liberation — 'the righteous' rejoicing in vengeance is less about vindictiveness than about the finally vindicated order of moral reality. C. S. Lewis noted that the imprecatory psalms represent genuine, undisguised moral outrage before God — their honesty is their theological value even when the sentiments expressed are not directly applicable to Christian ethics. Revelation 19:2 ('for true and righteous are his judgments') and 6:10 ('How long, O Lord?') preserve the same vindication-longing in canonical form.
Other Translations
The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked;
The righteous rejoiceth that he hath seen vengeance, His steps he washeth in the blood of the wicked.
The upright man will be glad when he sees their punishment; his feet will be washed in the blood of the evil-doer.
Cross References
Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance …
So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love him be as the sun when he …
When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil;
The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn.
When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting.
And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and …
And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and …
Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, …
And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be …