Discovery BoxPsalms 140:4-9 
Context140:4 O Lord, shelter me from the power 1 of the wicked!
Protect me from violent men,
who plan to knock me over. 2
140:5 Proud men hide a snare for me;
evil men 3 spread a net by the path;
they set traps for me. (Selah)
140:6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”
O Lord, pay attention to my plea for mercy!
140:7 O sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer, 4
you shield 5 my head in the day of battle.
140:8 O Lord, do not let the wicked have their way! 6
Do not allow their 7 plan to succeed when they attack! 8 (Selah)
140:9 As for the heads of those who surround me –
may the harm done by 9 their lips overwhelm them!
1 tn Heb “hands.”
2 tn Heb “to push down my steps.”
3 tn Heb “and ropes,” but many prefer to revocalize the noun as a participle (חֹבְלִים, khovÿlim) from the verb חָבַל (khaval, “act corruptly”).
4 tn Heb “the strength of my deliverance.”
5 tn Heb “cover.”
6 tn Heb “do not grant the desires of the wicked.”
7 tn Heb “his.” The singular is used in a representative sense (see v. 1).
8 tn Heb “his plot do not promote, they rise up.” The translation understands the final verb as being an unmarked temporal clause. Another option is to revocalize the verb as a Hiphil and take the verb with the next verse, “those who surround me lift up [their] head,” which could refer to their proud attitude as they anticipate victory (see Ps 27:6).
9 tn Heb “harm of their lips.” The genitive here indicates the source or agent of the harm.
