Psalm 140–142

A Prayer for Protection^t

140 Save me, Lord, from evildoers;

keep me safe from violent people.

²They are always plotting evil,

always stirring up quarrels.

^3*Their tongues are like deadly snakes;

their words are like a cobra’s poison.

⁴Protect me, Lord, from the power of the wicked;

keep me safe from violent people

who plot my downfall.

⁵The proud have set a trap for me;

they have laid their snares

and along the path they have set traps to catch me.

⁶I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”

Hear my cry for help, Lord!

⁷My Sovereign Lord, my strong defender,

you have protected me in battle.

⁸Lord, don’t give the wicked what they want;

don’t let their plots succeed.

⁹Don’t let my enemies be victorious;^u

make their threats against me fall back on them.

¹⁰May red-hot coals fall on them;

may they be thrown into a pit and never get out.

¹¹May those who accuse others falsely not succeed;

may evil overtake violent people and destroy them.

¹²Lord, I know that you defend the cause of the poor

and the rights of the needy.

¹³The righteous will praise you indeed;

they will live in your presence.

An Evening Prayer^v

141 I call to you, Lord; help me now!

Listen to me when I call to you.

^2*Receive my prayer as incense,

my uplifted hands as an evening sacrifice.

³Lord, place a guard at my mouth,

a sentry at the door of my lips.

⁴Keep me from wanting to do wrong

and from joining evil people in their wickedness.

May I never take part in their feasts.

⁵Good people may punish me and rebuke me in kindness,

but I will never accept honour from evil people,

because I am always praying against their evil deeds.

⁶When their rulers are thrown down from rocky cliffs,

the people will admit that my words were true.

⁷Like wood that is split and chopped into bits,

so their bones are scattered at the edge of the grave.^w

⁸But I keep trusting in you, my Sovereign Lord.

I seek your protection;

don’t let me die!

⁹Protect me from the traps they have set for me,

from the snares of those evildoers.

¹⁰May the wicked fall into their own traps

while I go by unharmed.

A Prayer for Help^+x

142 I call to the Lord for help;

I plead with him.

²I bring him all my complaints;

I tell him all my troubles.

³When I am ready to give up,

he knows what I should do.

In the path where I walk,

my enemies have hidden a trap for me.

⁴When I look beside me,

I see that there is no one to help me,

no one to protect me.

No one cares for me.

⁵Lord, I cry to you for help;

you, Lord, are my protector;

you are all I want in this life.

⁶Listen to my cry for help,

for I am sunk in despair.

Save me from my enemies;

they are too strong for me.

⁷Set me free from my distress;^y

then in the assembly of your people I will praise you

because of your goodness to me.