Ps. 58.1-2 (between the rulings)

Do you really / speak justly / you Mighty Ones?
Do you / judge people / with equity?
No, / in your heart / you do evil,
preparing / the way in the land / for the violence / of your hands. 

As with nearly all of the wicked in the psalms we are, once again, with the realm of duality. These “might ones’” rulings say one thing, but their real goal, as originating within their hearts, is entirely different. While they should be meeting out ‘equity’, and establishing justice within the community (the people), what they are in fact doing is laying out a well thought out “way” into “the land” whereby they can exert violence. The dilemma is acute, as the first question indicates, albeit rhetorically. The rulings will always be shrouded in their authority as ‘mighty ones’ and therefore partake of that endowed (almost divine) prerogative. Hence, “do you really speak justly?” The force of their rulings, and the trust bestowed upon them by the people, clothes their rulings in a presumption of rectitude (correctness). Yet, it seems that between the bestowal on them of their divine mission, and their enactment, they have aggrandized for themselves this power and interrupted the proper ‘flow’ of justice. Indeed, they so distorted it that what should be ‘equity’ is, in fact, “the violence of your hands”. They have not merely damned up the ability for justice to be present on the earth, they have exploited their roles (power(s)) in act of extreme betrayal. Somehow, the psalmist has perceived this interruption, this aggrandizement, and will proceed to unveil it through the remainder of the psalm. He has been given a type of ‘cardiognosis’ (heart-knowledge) and is able to reveal the rift. As we will see, the psalm is aimed at healing that rift and re-establishing true justice.  We must remember that the extreme language that is used throughout the remainder of the psalm is not merely aimed at individuals: it is aimed at these people (these judges) who have been given a divine role to maintain and establish justice on the earth. It is precisely because of this incredible responsibility (and the consequent incredible act of betrayal) that they are subject to such disturbing denunciations. The denunciations are not nearly as disturbing as the acts of betrayal performed.