Vindicating Vengeance and Violence?: Commentary Approaches to Cursing Psalms and their Relevance for Liturgy

Psalms that seem to vindicate vengeance and violence are generally omitted from liturgy, as exemplified in most breviaries used by worshipping communities around the world. Although seldom read, the so-called cursing psalms are known to many as their imprecatory passages pose challenges for readers who wish to use the entire Book of Psalms as their book of prayer. Because passages that call for vengeance and violence are present throughout the psalm collection and often “intertwined with th...