Psalms 141:4-10

141:4 Do not let me have evil desires, ¹ 

or participate in sinful activities

with men who behave wickedly. ² 

I will not eat their delicacies. ³ 

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

May my head not refuse ⁴  choice oil! ⁵ 

Indeed, my prayer is a witness against their evil deeds. ⁶ 

141:6 They will be thrown down the side of a cliff by their judges. ⁷ 

They ⁸  will listen to my words, for they are pleasant.

141:7 As when one plows and breaks up the soil, ⁹ 

so our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.

141:8 Surely I am looking to you, ¹⁰  O sovereign Lord.

In you I take shelter.

Do not expose me to danger! ¹¹ 

141:9 Protect me from the snare they have laid for me,

and the traps the evildoers have set. ¹² 

141:10 Let the wicked fall ¹³  into their ¹⁴  own nets,

while I escape. ¹⁵ 

[141:4]  ¹ tn Heb “do not turn my heart toward an evil thing.”

[141:4]  ² tn Heb “to act sinfully in practices in wickedness with men, doers of evil.”

[141:4]  ³ sn Their delicacies. This probably refers to the enjoyment that a sinful lifestyle appears to offer.

[141:5]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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.

[141:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “they are thrown down by the hands of a cliff, their judges.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult and the meaning uncertain. The perfect verbal form is understood as rhetorical; the psalmist describes the anticipated downfall of the wicked as if it had already occurred. “Their judges” could be taken as the subject of the verb, but this makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes the judges are the agents and that the wicked, mentioned earlier in the psalm, are the subjects of the verb.

[141:6]  ⁸ tn It is unclear how this statement relates to the preceding sentence. Perhaps the judges are the referent of the pronominal subject (“they”) of the verb “will listen,” and “my words” are the referent of the pronominal subject (“they”) of the phrase “are pleasant.” The psalmist may be affirming here his confidence that he will be vindicated when he presents his case before the judges, while the wicked will be punished.

[141:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “like splitting and breaking open in the earth.” The meaning of the statement and the point of the comparison are not entirely clear. Perhaps the psalmist is suggesting that he and other godly individuals are as good as dead; their bones are scattered about like dirt that is dug up and tossed aside.

[141:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my eyes [are] toward you.”

[141:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “do not lay bare my life.” Only here is the Piel form of the verb collocated with the term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “life”). In Isa 53:12 the Lord’s servant “lays bare (the Hiphil form of the verb is used) his life to death.”

[141:9]  ¹² tn Heb “and the traps of the doers of evil.”

[141:10]  ¹³ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer. Another option is to translate, “the wicked will fall.”

[141:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “his.”

[141:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “at the same [that] I, until I pass by.” Another option is to take יַחַד (yakhad) with the preceding line, “let the wicked fall together into their own nets.”