The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
Parallel translations
- WEB The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked;
- BSB The righteous will rejoice when they see they are avenged; they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.
- NKJV The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,
- NASB ¶The righteous will rejoice when he sees vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
- NLT The godly will rejoice when they see injustice avenged. They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The righteous will rejoice when God's justice is finally seen, vindicated rather than vengeful. It affirms that God's judgment is a cause for worship, not personal triumph.
Overview
The striking image of washing feet in the blood of the wicked depicts complete victory over evil through God's judgment, not the believer's own revenge. The rejoicing is over God's vindicated righteousness and the defeat of oppression. Christians read such language in light of the cross and final judgment, where God's justice and mercy fully meet.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Ps 68:23That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same.
- Ps 91:8Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
- Rev 11:17–18Saying, We give thee thanks, O LORD God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
- Prov 11:10When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting.
- Ps 64:10The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.
- Deut 32:43Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.
- Ps 107:42The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.
- Ps 68:1–3Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
- Rev 18:20Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
- Job 29:6When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil;
- Ps 52:6The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:
- Judg 5:31So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.
- Job 22:19The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn.
- Rev 14:20And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
- Rev 19:1–6And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 58:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.