Bible Strands
Psalms 58:2
No, in your hearts you devise injustice; with your hands you mete out violence on the earth.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David addresses corrupt rulers and "sons of men," contrasting their claim of just judgment with their actual corrupt practices.
The words — The Hebrew lev (heart) and chalas (weigh out) anchor the verse, showing how internal plotting becomes calculated, measured violence on the earth.
The thread — This pattern of corrupt governance appears in Psalms 94:20, Isaiah 10:1, and Ecclesiastes 3:16, where unjust decrees and wickedness replace proper judgment.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that systemic injustice begins in concealed intentions before manifesting as deliberate oppression in public life.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.
Cross-references
- Psalms 94:20 Can a corrupt throne be Your ally—one devising mischief by decree?
- Isaiah 10:1 Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and issue oppressive decrees,
- Ecclesiastes 3:16 Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.
- Ezekiel 22:27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.
- Micah 3:1 Then I said: “Hear now, O leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel. Should you not know justice?
- Psalms 21:11 Though they intend You harm, the schemes they devise will not prevail.
- Isaiah 26:7 The path of the righteous is level; You clear a straight path for the upright.
- Isaiah 59:4 No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
- Jeremiah 22:16 He took up the cause of the poor and needy, and so it went well with him. Is this not what it means to know Me?” declares the LORD.
- Ezekiel 22:12 In you they take bribes to shed blood. You engage in usury, take excess interest, and extort your neighbors. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.