⁸ Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
    do not further their evil plot.^[a] Selah^(A)

² In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor—
    let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.^(A)

¹² Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
    for false witnesses have risen against me,
    and they are breathing out violence.^(A)

¹² He frustrates the devices of the crafty,
    so that their hands achieve no success.^(A)
13 He takes the wise in their own craftiness,
    and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.

²⁰ Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
    those who contrive mischief by statute?^(A)
21 They band together against the life of the righteous
    and condemn the innocent to death.^(B)

²⁷ but I feared provocation by the enemy,
    for their adversaries might misunderstand
and say, “Our hand is triumphant;
    it was not the Lord who did all this.” ’^(A)