140
Rescue Me from Evil Men
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men.
Protect me from men of violence,
2 who devise evil in their hearts
and stir up war all day long.
3 They sharpen their tongues like snakes;
the venom of vipers is on their lips.*
Selah
4 Guard me, O LORD,
from the hands of the wicked.
Keep me safe from men of violence
who scheme to make me stumble.
5 The proud hide a snare for me;
the cords of their net are spread along the path,
and lures are set out for me.
Selah
6 I say to the LORD, “You are my God.”
Hear, O LORD, my cry for help.
7 O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation,
You shield my head in the day of battle.
8 Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
do not promote their evil plans,
lest they be exalted.
Selah
9 May the heads of those who surround me
be covered in the trouble their lips have caused.
10 May burning coals fall on them;
may they be thrown into the fire,
into the miry pits, never to rise again.
11 May no slanderer be established in the land;
may calamity hunt down the man of violence.
12 I know that the LORD upholds justice for the poor
and defends the cause of the needy.
13 Surely the righteous will praise Your name;
the upright will dwell in Your presence.
* 140:3 Cited in Romans 3:13