Psalm 140

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹Rescue me, Lord, from evildoers;

protect me from the violent,

²who devise evil plans in their hearts

and stir up war every day.

³They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s;

the poison of vipers is on their lips.

⁴Keep me safe, Lord, from the hands of the wicked;

protect me from the violent,

who devise ways to trip my feet.

⁵The 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.

⁶I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”

Hear, Lord, my cry for mercy.

⁷Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer,

you shield my head in the day of battle.

⁸Do not grant the wicked their desires, Lord;

do not let their plans succeed.

⁹Those who surround me proudly rear their heads;

may the mischief of their lips engulf them.

¹⁰May burning coals fall on them;

may they be thrown into the fire,

into miry pits, never to rise.

¹¹May slanderers not be established in the land;

may disaster hunt down the violent.

¹²I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor

and upholds the cause of the needy.

¹³Surely the righteous will praise your name,

and the upright will live in your presence.