祈求上帝保护

大卫的诗,交给乐长。

140 耶和华啊!
求你拯救我脱离恶人,
保护我脱离残暴之徒。
他们心怀叵测,整天挑拨离间。
他们的言语恶毒如蛇,
嘴唇有蛇的毒液。(细拉)

耶和华啊,
求你使我免遭恶人的毒手,
保护我脱离残暴之徒。
他们图谋害我。
傲慢人在我的路上暗设网罗,
布下圈套,挖了陷阱。(细拉)

耶和华啊,
我说:“你是我的上帝。”
耶和华啊,求你垂听我的呼求。
主耶和华,我大能的拯救者啊,
在战争的日子,你保护我。
耶和华啊,
求你不要让恶人的愿望实现,
不要让他们的阴谋得逞,
免得他们狂妄自大。(细拉)

愿那些围攻我的人自食恶果。
10 愿火炭落在他们身上,
愿他们被丢进火里,
被抛进深坑,不得翻身。
11 愿毁谤者在地上无法立足,
愿祸患毁灭残暴之徒。
12 我知道耶和华必为贫穷人伸张正义,
为困苦者申冤。
13 义人必赞美你的名,
正直人必活在你面前。

Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

140 (A)Rescue me, Lord, from evil people;
Protect me from (B)violent men
Who (C)devise evil things in their hearts;
They (D)continually stir up wars.
They (E)sharpen their tongues like a snake;
(F)The venom of a viper is under their lips. Selah

(G)Keep me, Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
(H)Protect me from violent men
Who [a]intend to [b](I)trip up my feet.
The proud have (J)hidden a trap for me, and snares;
They have spread a (K)net at the [c]wayside;
They have set (L)snares for me. Selah

I (M)said to the Lord, “You are my God;
(N)Listen, Lord, to the (O)sound of my pleadings.
[d]God the Lord, (P)the strength of my salvation,
You have (Q)covered my head on the day of [e]battle.
Do not grant, Lord, the (R)desires of the wicked;
Do not bring about (S)his evil planning, so that they are not exalted. Selah

“As for the head of those who surround me,
May the (T)harm of their lips cover them.
10 May (U)burning coals fall upon them;
May they be (V)cast into the fire,
Into bottomless pits from which they (W)cannot rise.
11 May a [f]slanderer not endure on the earth;
(X)May evil hunt a violent person [g]violently.”

12 I know that the Lord will (Y)maintain the cause of the afflicted,
And (Z)justice for the poor.
13 Certainly the (AA)righteous will give thanks to Your name;
The (AB)upright will dwell in Your presence.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 140:4 Or devise
  2. Psalm 140:4 Lit push
  3. Psalm 140:5 Lit track
  4. Psalm 140:7 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  5. Psalm 140:7 Lit weapons
  6. Psalm 140:11 Lit man of tongue
  7. Psalm 140:11 Lit blow upon blow

Psalm 140[a]

Prayer for Deliverance from the Snares of the Wicked

For the director.[b] A psalm of David.

[c]Deliver me, O Lord, from evildoers;
    protect me from those who are violent,
who plan evil schemes in their hearts[d]
    and stir up strife continually.
Their tongues[e] are as sharp as those of a serpent,
    while the venom of vipers is on their lips. Selah
Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
    protect me from those who are violent,
    who are determined to cause my downfall.
The arrogant[f] have set a hidden trap for me;
    they have spread out cords as a net,
    laying snares for me along the way. Selah
[g]I say to the Lord, “You are my God.
    Listen, O Lord, to the voice of my supplications.”
Lord, my God, my strong deliverer,
    you shield my head on the day of battle.
Do not grant the desires of the wicked, O Lord;
    do not permit their evil plots to succeed,
    or they will become proud. Selah
10 [h]Those who surround me raise up their heads;
    let them be overwhelmed by the malice they threaten.
11 May burning coals rain down on them;
    may they be flung down into the miry depths,
    never again to rise.[i]
12 Do not permit slanderers to find rest in the land;
    may evil hunt the violent to their death.
13 [j]I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor
    and upholds the cause of the needy.
14 Then the upright will give thanks to your name,
    and the righteous will dwell in your presence.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 140:1 More than once already we have heard the voice of a suffering, righteous person; he is the persecuted victim of the wicked, thieves, and calumniators. He calls down the vengeance of God on his enemies, while retaining his trust in the Lord. The state of the righteous and the harshness of the wicked are expressed in images often used. The opposition that biblical prayer places between poverty and violence, humility and arrogance, simplicity and falsehood is inescapable. To recite this psalm is to bear human misfortune, to become poor.
    We can pray this psalm in the name of the Church who is continuously assailed by treacherous adversaries, both material and spiritual. Knowing the futility of earthly help, the Church takes her heavenly Spouse, Christ, as her sole refuge. He provides spiritual armor that is efficacious against the attacks of the enemy (see Eph 6:13-17; 1 Thes 5:8).
  2. Psalm 140:1 For the director: these words are thought to be a musical or liturgical notation.
  3. Psalm 140:2 The psalmist prays for deliverance from evildoers who sow discord with their speech and devise evil schemes, leading to anarchy and continuous agitation. Instead of following God’s way, they have chosen the alternative way of the “father of lies” who was “a murderer from the beginning” (Jn 8:44).
  4. Psalm 140:3 Hearts: see note on Ps 4:8.
  5. Psalm 140:4 Tongues: see note on Ps 5:10.
  6. Psalm 140:6 The wicked seek to entrap the righteous as a fowler catches animals with a snare, net, or trap (see Pss 31:5; 119:110; 141:10; 142:4; Mt 22:15; Lk 11:54). Arrogant: see note on Ps 31:24.
  7. Psalm 140:7 The psalmist seeks protection from the Lord of the covenant, for he alone is God and the Master of the world.
  8. Psalm 140:10 The psalmist’s plea now becomes an imprecatory prayer, which is an expression for God’s just rule. Using metaphors for the divine judgment (burning coals and miry depths), he asks for redress (see notes on Pss 5:11; 35).
  9. Psalm 140:11 Allusion to Sodom (see Gen 19) and Dathan (see Num 16). See also Pss 11:6; 36:13; 55:24; 141:10.
  10. Psalm 140:13 The psalmist is confident that the Lord, the just Judge (see Pss 7:9f; 9:5), will vindicate the righteous poor (see notes on Pss 22:27; 34:7), who will then praise his name (see note on Ps 7:18) and live in his presence (see notes on Pss 23:5-6; 27:4).

140 Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man;

Which imagine mischiefs in their heart; continually are they gathered together for war.

They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders' poison is under their lips. Selah.

Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings.

The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me. Selah.

I said unto the Lord, Thou art my God: hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord.

O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.

Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked: further not his wicked device; lest they exalt themselves. Selah.

As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them.

10 Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not up again.

11 Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.

12 I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor.

13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.