Psalms 141:1-5

Psalm 141 ¹ 

A psalm of David.

141:1 O Lord, I cry out to you. Come quickly to me!

Pay attention to me when I cry out to you!

141:2 May you accept my prayer like incense,

my uplifted hands like the evening offering! ² 

141:3 O Lord, place a guard on my mouth!

Protect the opening ³  of my lips! ⁴ 

141:4 Do not let me have evil desires, ⁵ 

or participate in sinful activities

with men who behave wickedly. ⁶ 

I will not eat their delicacies. ⁷ 

141:5 May the godly strike me in love and correct me!

May my head not refuse ⁸  choice oil! ⁹ 

Indeed, my prayer is a witness against their evil deeds. ¹⁰ 

[141:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 141. The psalmist asks God to protect him from sin and from sinful men.

[141:2]  ² tn Heb “may my prayer be established [like] incense before you, the uplifting of my hands [like] an evening offering.”

[141:3]  ³ tn Heb “door.” The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.

[141:3]  ⁴ sn My mouth…my lips. The psalmist asks God to protect him from speaking inappropriately or sinfully.

[141:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “do not turn my heart toward an evil thing.”

[141:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “to act sinfully in practices in wickedness with men, doers of evil.”

[141:4]  ⁷ sn Their delicacies. This probably refers to the enjoyment that a sinful lifestyle appears to offer.

[141:5]  ⁸ tn The form יָנִי (yaniy) appears to be derived from the verbal root נוּא (nu’). Another option is to emend the form to יְנָא (yÿna’), a Piel from נָאָה (na’ah), and translate “may choice oil not adorn my head” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 271). In this case, choice oil, like delicacies in v. 4, symbolize the pleasures of sin.

[141:5]  ⁹ sn May my head not refuse choice oil. The psalmist compares the constructive criticism of the godly (see the previous line) to having refreshing olive oil poured over one’s head.

[141:5]  ¹⁰ tc Heb “for still, and my prayer [is] against their evil deeds.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult; the sequence -כִּי־עוֹד וּ (kiy-’od u-, “for still and”) occurs only here. The translation assumes an emendation to כִּי עֵד תְפלָּתִי (“indeed a witness [is] my prayer”). The psalmist’s lament about the evil actions of sinful men (see v. 4) testifies against the wicked in the divine court.