• Psalm 140In Hebrew texts 140:1-13 is numbered 140:2-14.

  • 1 Rescue me, Lord, from evildoers; protect me from the violent,
  • 2 who devise evil plans in their hearts and stir up war every day.
  • 3 They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s; the poison of vipers is on their lips.
  • 4 Keep me safe, Lord, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from the violent, who devise ways to trip my feet.
  • 5 The arrogant have hidden a snare for me; they have spread out the cords of their net and have set traps for me along my path.
  • 6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.” Hear, Lord, my cry for mercy.
  • 7 Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer, you shield my head in the day of battle.
  • 8 Do not grant the wicked their desires, Lord; do not let their plans succeed.
  • 9 Those who surround me proudly rear their heads; may the mischief of their lips engulf them.
  • 10 May burning coals fall on them; may they be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, never to rise.
  • 11 May slanderers not be established in the land; may disaster hunt down the violent.
  • 12 I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.
  • 13 Surely the righteous will praise your name, and the upright will live in your presence.