Psalm 140–141

A Prayer for Protection

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

140Lord, rescue me from evil people;

protect me from cruel people

²who make evil plans,

who always start fights.

³They make their tongues sharp as a snake’s;

their words are like snake poison.

Selah

⁴Lord, guard me from the power of wicked people;

protect me from cruel people

who plan to trip me up.

⁵The proud hid a trap for me.

They spread out a net beside the road;

they set traps for me.

Selah

⁶I said to the Lord, “You are my God.”

Lord, listen to my prayer for help.

⁷Lord God, my mighty savior,

you protect me in battle.

⁸Lord, do not give the wicked what they want.

Don’t let their plans succeed,

or they will become proud.

Selah

⁹Those around me have planned trouble.

Now let it come to them.

¹⁰Let burning coals fall on them.

Throw them into the fire

or into pits from which they cannot escape.

¹¹Don’t let liars settle in the land.

Let evil quickly hunt down cruel people.

¹²I know the Lord will get justice for the poor

and will defend the needy in court.

¹³Good people will praise his name;

honest people will live in his presence.

A Prayer Not to Sin

A psalm of David.

141Lord, I call to you. Come quickly.

Listen to me when I call to you.

²Let my prayer be like incense placed before you,

and my praise like the evening sacrifice.

³Lord, help me control my tongue;

help me be careful about what I say.

⁴Take away my desire to do evil

or to join others in doing wrong.

Don’t let me eat tasty food

with those who do evil.

⁵If a good person punished me, that would be kind.

If he corrected me, that would be like perfumed oil on my head.

I shouldn’t refuse it.

But I pray against those who do evil.

⁶Let their leaders be thrown down the cliffs.

Then people will know that I have spoken correctly:

⁷“The ground is plowed and broken up.

In the same way, our bones have been scattered at the grave.”

⁸God, I look to you for help.

I trust in you, Lord. Don’t let me die.

⁹Protect me from the traps they set for me

and from the net that evil people have spread.

¹⁰Let the wicked fall into their own nets,

but let me pass by safely.