I have heard it said that the Nazi war criminals were convicted and hanged because of the testimony of Jews against them. It’s not true, you know. The testimony of the survivors of the death camps was important, but it was not the most damning testimony. The most damning evidence at Nuremberg was the Nazis own meticulous record keeping. I’m not sure what it is about such wickedness that the men who do it seem to maintain such good records. They weigh the violence of their hands.

When you find the words the Wicked in the Bible, it is not talking about sinners. It is not talking about weak-willed, heavily-tempted people who fall short. It isn’t talking about difficult children or rebellious teenagers. In fact, the wicked often seem quite ordinary much of the time—even smooth. They tend to be rather banal. It is not even talking about people who do wrong even when they know better. No, the Wicked are something altogether different. And unless we understand something about this, we will find many things in the Old Testament incomprehensible.

All this came to mind when I was reading the 58^th psalm…