Psalm 58 is a corporate prayer psalm, but who are the rulers addressed in the opening verse and censured in the rest of the psalm? This psalm shows some parallels with Psalm 82, which also complains of authorities or judges who practice unjust judgment. Although there the judges appear to be spiritual beings (who, unlike our psalm, are distinguished from “the wicked” in v. 4), here in Psalm 58 they appear to be human judges, who have a heart and hands (v. 2). The description of the wicked in the verses immediately following are clearly human (note “birth” and “the womb,” v. 3).

58:1–5 The opening verses lament that the judging of these rulers is characterized by injustice. It is not done uprightly (lit. “with equity”), a quality that characterizes Yahweh’s judging in the psalms of Yahweh’…