Psalm 140 (139)
Free me from the wicked.
2 O Lord, deliver me from the evil one, protect me from violent people,
3 forever plotting evil and stirring up strife.
4 They have tongues sharp as a ser pent¡¯s and venomous lips.
5 Save me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked, preserve me from the hands
of the violent, who have planned to trip my feet.
6 The arrogant have set a snare for me; they have spread out their nets to
entrap me along my path.
7 I say to the Lord, ¡°You are my God.¡± Hear, O Lord, my voice in sup
plication.
8 O God, my Lord, my strength and salvation, in the day of battle you shield
my head.
9 Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; do not let their evil
schemes succeed.
10 Let my attackers be over whelm ed by the mischief they prepared and not
lift up their heads.
11 Let burning coals rain upon them; let them be cast into the depths, never
to rise again.
12 Do not let the slanderer thrive on earth; let disaster hunt down the
violent.
13 I know that the Lord upholds the cause of the afflicted, and justice will
be done to the poor.
14 The just shall praise your name, the upright shall dwell in your
presence.
¡¡