Psalm 140

By King David

Save me, O Jehovah, from men of evil,
Deliver me from men of violence,
Those who devise evil schemes in their hearts
And are continually stirring up wars.
Their tongues are sharpened like those of serpents
And their words are like a viper’s poison.

Protect me from the hands of the wicked,
Jehovah; keep me safe from violent men
Who are determined to make me stumble.
The arrogant have laid a trap for me;
They have spread a net on the side of the path;
They have set snares for me along my way.

I say to Jehovah, “You are my god.”
Hear, O Jehovah, my pleas for mercy.
Jehovah the Master, my mighty savior,
You shield my head in the day of battle.
Do not grant to the wicked their desires,
O Jehovah; let not their evil schemes
Succeed, so that they may exalt themselves.
As for the leaders of those who beseige me,
Let the evil they speak fall upon them.
May burning embers fall upon their heads;
May they be cast into a pit of flames
Or a bog from which they can never climb out.

Let not slanderers prosper in the land;
Let disaster hunt down violent men
And bring them to a hasty destruction.

I know that Jehovah upholds justice
For the poor and champions those in want.
Surely the righteous are praising your name
And the upright will dwell in your presence.