Psalm 140-142

New King James Version

Prayer for Deliverance from Evil Men

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

140 Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
Preserve me from violent men,
²Who plan evil things in their hearts;
^(A)They continually gather together for war.
³They sharpen their tongues like a serpent;
The ^(B)poison of asps is under their lips. Selah

⁴^(C)Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
Preserve me from violent men,
Who have purposed to make my steps stumble.
⁵The proud have hidden a ^(D)snare for me, and cords;
They have spread a net by the wayside;
They have set traps for me. Selah

⁶I said to the Lord: “You are my God;
Hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord.
⁷O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation,
You have ^[a]covered my head in the day of battle.
⁸Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
Do not further his wicked scheme,
^(E)Lest they be exalted. Selah

⁹“As for the head of those who surround me,
Let the evil of their lips cover them;
¹⁰^(F)Let burning coals fall upon them;
Let them be cast into the fire,
Into deep pits, that they rise not up again.
¹¹Let not a slanderer be established in the earth;
Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.”

¹²I know that the Lord will ^(G)maintain
The cause of the afflicted,
And justice for the poor.
¹³Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name;
The upright shall dwell in Your presence.

Prayer for Safekeeping from Wickedness

A Psalm of David.

141 Lord, I cry out to You;
Make haste to me!
Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You.
²Let my prayer be set before You ^(H)as incense,
^(I)The lifting up of my hands as ^(J)the evening sacrifice.

³Set a guard, O Lord, over my ^(K)mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
⁴Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice wicked works
With men who work iniquity;
^(L)And do not let me eat of their delicacies.

⁵^(M)Let the righteous strike me;
It shall be a kindness.
And let him rebuke me;
It shall be as excellent oil;
Let my head not refuse it.

For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked.
⁶Their judges are overthrown by the sides of the ^[b]cliff,
And they hear my words, for they are sweet.
⁷Our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave,
As when one plows and breaks up the earth.

⁸But ^(N)my eyes are upon You, O God the Lord;
In You I take refuge;
^[c]Do not leave my soul destitute.
⁹Keep me from ^(O)the snares they have laid for me,
And from the traps of the workers of iniquity.
¹⁰^(P)Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
While I escape safely.

A Plea for Relief from Persecutors

A ^(Q)Contemplation^[d] of David. A Prayer ^(R)when he was in the cave.

142 I cry out to the Lord with my voice;
With my voice to the Lord I make my supplication.
²I pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare before Him my trouble.

³When my spirit ^[e]was ^(S)overwhelmed within me,
Then You knew my path.
In the way in which I walk
They have secretly ^(T)set a snare for me.
⁴Look on my right hand and see,
For there is no one who acknowledges me;
Refuge has failed me;
No one cares for my soul.

⁵I cried out to You, O Lord:
I said, “You are my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living.
⁶^[f]Attend to my cry,
For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are stronger than I.
⁷Bring my soul out of prison,
That I may ^(U)praise Your name;
The righteous shall surround me,
For You shall deal bountifully with me.”

Footnotes

Psalm 140:7 sheltered
Psalm 141:6 rock
Psalm 141:8 Lit. Do not make my soul bare
Psalm 142:1 Heb. Maschil
Psalm 142:3 Lit. fainted
Psalm 142:6 Give heed

1 Corinthians 14:1-20

New King James Version

Prophecy and Tongues

14 Pursue love, and ^(A)desire spiritual gifts, ^(B)but especially that you may prophesy. ²For he who ^(C)speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. ³But he who prophesies speaks ^(D)edification and ^(E)exhortation and comfort to men. ⁴He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. ⁵I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; ^[a]for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.

Tongues Must Be Interpreted

⁶But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by ^(F)revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying, or by teaching? ⁷Even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played? ⁸For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle? ⁹So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. ¹⁰There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without ^[b]significance. ¹¹Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a ^[c]foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me. ¹²Even so you, since you are ^[d]zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the ^[e]edification of the church that you seek to excel.

¹³Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may ^(G)interpret. ¹⁴For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. ¹⁵What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. ^(H)I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing ^(I)with the understanding. ¹⁶Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say “Amen” ^(J)at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? ¹⁷For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.

¹⁸I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all; ¹⁹yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.