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My Prayer as Incense Before You

A Psalm of David.

141 O Yahweh, I call upon You; (A)hasten to me!
(B)Give ear to my voice when I call to You!
May my prayer be established as (C)incense before You;
The (D)lifting up of my hands as the (E)evening offering.
Set a (F)guard, O Yahweh, [a]over my mouth;
Keep watch over the (G)door of my lips.
(H)Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice deeds in wickedness
With men who are (I)workers of iniquity;
And (J)do not let me eat of their delicacies.

Let the (K)righteous smite me in lovingkindness and reprove me;
It is (L)oil upon the head;
Let not my head refuse it,
[b]For still my prayer (M)is [c]against their evil deeds.
Their judges are (N)thrown down by the sides of the cliff,
And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
As when one (O)plows and splits open the earth,
Our (P)bones have been scattered at the (Q)mouth of Sheol.

For my (R)eyes are toward You, O Yahweh, O Lord;
In You I (S)take refuge; (T)do not pour out my soul to death.
Keep me from the [d](U)jaws of the trap which they have set for me,
And from the (V)snares of workers of iniquity.
10 Let the wicked (W)fall into their own nets,
As for myself—meanwhile, (X)I am passing by.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 141:3 Lit to
  2. Psalm 141:5 Lit And my prayer
  3. Psalm 141:5 Or in spite of their calamities
  4. Psalm 141:9 Lit hands

Psalm 141

A psalm of David.

141 I cry out to you, Lord: Come to me—quickly!
    Listen to my voice when I cry out to you!
Let my prayer stand before you like incense;
    let my uplifted hands be like the evening offering.

Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;
    keep close watch over the door that is my lips.
Don’t let my heart turn aside to evil things
        so that I don’t do wicked things with evildoers,
        so I don’t taste their delicacies.

Instead, let the righteous discipline me;
    let the faithful correct me!
Let my head never reject that kind of fine oil,
    because my prayers are always against the deeds of the wicked.[a]
Their leaders will fall from jagged cliffs,
    but my words will be heard because they are pleasing.[b]
Our bones[c] have been scattered at the mouth of the grave,[d]
    just like when the ground is broken up and plowed.[e]

But my eyes are on you, my Lord God.
    I take refuge in you; don’t let me die!
Protect me from the trap they’ve set for me;
    protect me from the snares of the evildoers.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets—all together!—
    but let me make it through safely.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 141:5 Heb uncertain
  2. Psalm 141:6 Heb uncertain
  3. Psalm 141:7 LXX manuscripts, Syr their bones; DSS (11QPsa) my bones
  4. Psalm 141:7 Heb Sheol
  5. Psalm 141:7 Heb uncertain