Psalms 140:1-4

Psalm 140

For the music director; a psalm of David.

140:1 O Lord, rescue me from wicked men!

Protect me from violent men,

140:2 who plan ways to harm me.

All day long they stir up conflict.

140:3 Their tongues wound like a serpent;

a viper’s venom is behind their lips. (Selah)

140:4 O Lord, shelter me from the power of the wicked!

Protect me from violent men,

who plan to knock me over. 10 


sn Psalm 140. The psalmist asks God to deliver him from his deadly enemies, calls judgment down upon them, and affirms his confidence in God’s justice.

tn Heb “from a wicked man.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).

tn Heb “a man of violent acts.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).

tn Heb “they devise wicked [plans] in [their] mind.”

tc Heb “they attack [for] war.” Some revocalize the verb (which is a Qal imperfect from גּוּר, gur, “to attack”) as יְגָרוּ (yÿgaru), a Piel imperfect from גָרָה (garah, “stir up strife”). This is followed in the present translation.

tn Heb “they sharpen their tongue like a serpent.” Ps 64:3 reads, “they sharpen their tongues like sword.” Perhaps Ps 140:3 uses a mixed metaphor, the point being that “they sharpen their tongues [like a sword],” as it were, so that when they speak, their words wound like a serpent’s bite. Another option is that the language refers to the pointed or forked nature of a serpent’s tongue, which is viewed metaphorically as “sharpened.”

tn The Hebrew term is used only here in the OT.

tn Heb “under.”

tn Heb “hands.”

10 tn Heb “to push down my steps.”