Psalm 140

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Psalm 140

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

¹Deliver me, O Lord, from evildoers;
    protect me from those who are violent,^(A)
²who plan evil things in their minds
    and stir up wars continually.^(B)
³They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,
    and under their lips is the venom of vipers. Selah^(C)

⁴Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
    protect me from the violent
    who have planned my downfall.^(D)
⁵The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
    and with cords they have spread a net,^[a]
    along the road they have set snares for me. Selah^(E)

⁶I say to the Lord, “You are my God;
    give ear, O Lord, to the voice of my supplications.”^(F)
⁷O Lord, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
    you have covered my head in the day of battle.^(G)
⁸Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
    do not further their evil plot.^[b] Selah^(H)

⁹Those who surround me lift up their heads;^[c]
    let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!^(I)
¹⁰Let burning coals fall on them!
    Let them be flung into pits, no more to rise!^(J)
¹¹Do not let the slanderer be established in the land;
    let evil speedily hunt down the violent!^(K)

¹²I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the needy
and executes justice for the poor.^(L)
¹³Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
the upright shall live in your presence.^(M)

Footnotes

140.5 Or they have spread cords as a net
140.8 Heb adds they are exalted
140.9 Cn: Heb those who surround me are uplifted in head

Psalm 140

The Message

140 ^1-5God, get me out of here, away from this evil;
    protect me from these vicious people.
All they do is think up new ways to be bad;
    they spend their days plotting war games.
They practice the sharp rhetoric of hate and hurt,
    speak venomous words that maim and kill.
God, keep me out of the clutch of these wicked ones,
    protect me from these vicious people;
All boast and swagger, they plot ways to trip me up,
    determined to bring me down.
These crooks invent traps to catch me
    and do their best to incriminate me.

^6-8I prayed, “God, you’re my God!
    Listen, God! Mercy!
God, my Lord, Strong Savior,
    protect me when the fighting breaks out!
Don’t let the wicked have their way, God,
    don’t give them an inch!”

^9-11These troublemakers all around me—
    let them drown in their own verbal poison.
Let God pile hellfire on them,
    let him bury them alive in crevasses!
These loudmouths—
    don’t let them be taken seriously;
These savages—
    let the Devil hunt them down!

^12-13I know that you, God, are on the side of victims,
that you care for the rights of the poor.
And I know that the righteous personally thank you,
that good people are secure in your presence.

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)

The Message (MSG)

Psalm 140 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition