Psalms 140:1-8

Psalm 140 ¹ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

140:1 O Lord, rescue me from wicked men! ² 

Protect me from violent men, ³ 

140:2 who plan ways to harm me. ⁴ 

All day long they stir up conflict. ⁵ 

140:3 Their tongues wound like a serpent; ⁶ 

a viper’s ⁷  venom is behind ⁸  their lips. (Selah)

140:4 O Lord, shelter me from the power ⁹  of the wicked!

Protect me from violent men,

who plan to knock me over. ¹⁰ 

140:5 Proud men hide a snare for me;

evil men ¹¹  spread a net by the path;

they set traps for me. (Selah)

140:6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”

O Lord, pay attention to my plea for mercy!

140:7 O sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer, ¹² 

you shield ¹³  my head in the day of battle.

140:8 O Lord, do not let the wicked have their way! ¹⁴ 

Do not allow their ¹⁵  plan to succeed when they attack! ¹⁶  (Selah)

[140:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 140. The psalmist asks God to deliver him from his deadly enemies, calls judgment down upon them, and affirms his confidence in God’s justice.

[140:1]  ² tn Heb “from a wicked man.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).

[140:1]  ³ tn Heb “a man of violent acts.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).

[140:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “they devise wicked [plans] in [their] mind.”

[140:2]  ⁵ tc Heb “they attack [for] war.” Some revocalize the verb (which is a Qal imperfect from גּוּר, gur, “to attack”) as יְגָרוּ (yÿgaru), a Piel imperfect from גָרָה (garah, “stir up strife”). This is followed in the present translation.

[140:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “they sharpen their tongue like a serpent.” Ps 64:3 reads, “they sharpen their tongues like sword.” Perhaps Ps 140:3 uses a mixed metaphor, the point being that “they sharpen their tongues [like a sword],” as it were, so that when they speak, their words wound like a serpent’s bite. Another option is that the language refers to the pointed or forked nature of a serpent’s tongue, which is viewed metaphorically as “sharpened.”

[140:3]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term is used only here in the OT.

[140:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “under.”

[140:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “hands.”

[140:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to push down my steps.”

[140:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and ropes,” but many prefer to revocalize the noun as a participle (חֹבְלִים, khovÿlim) from the verb חָבַל (khaval, “act corruptly”).

[140:7]  ¹² tn Heb “the strength of my deliverance.”

[140:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “cover.”

[140:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “do not grant the desires of the wicked.”

[140:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “his.” The singular is used in a representative sense (see v. 1).

[140:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “his plot do not promote, they rise up.” The translation understands the final verb as being an unmarked temporal clause. Another option is to revocalize the verb as a Hiphil and take the verb with the next verse, “those who surround me lift up [their] head,” which could refer to their proud attitude as they anticipate victory (see Ps 27:6).