Psalms 140 KJV
A Prayer for Protection
About This Psalm
Deliver me from evil men. Their tongues are sharp as serpents. A prayer for protection from violent, scheming people.
1eliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man;
2 Which imagine mischiefs in their heart; continually are they gathered together for war.
3 They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; addersโ poison is under their lips. Selah.
4 Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings.
5 The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me. Selah.
6 I said unto the LORD, Thou art my God: hear the voice of my supplications, O LORD.
7 O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked: further not his wicked device; lest they exalt themselves. Selah.
9 As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them.
10 Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not up again.
11 Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.
12 I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.
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Did You Know?
The phrase describing venom under the lips in verse 3 is quoted verbatim in Romans 3:13 within Paul's catena proving universal sinfulness, linking this Davidic lament directly to New Testament hamartiology.
Psalm 140 belongs to the tightly clustered sequence 138-145, all superscribed 'of David' and sharing rare lexical links such as the verb 'to preserve' (shamar) that together portray an extended meditation on divine safeguarding amid betrayal.
Its imprecations in verses 9-11 employ the distinctive Hebrew construction of 'head-covering' curses that parallel ancient Near Eastern oath formulas, suggesting the psalmist draws on covenantal legal language rather than mere personal vengeance.
Verse 12's assertion that YHWH 'maintains the cause of the afflicted' uses the rare verb din in the hiphil, a forensic term that elsewhere appears in royal justice contexts and foreshadows the prophetic theme of the divine warrior as advocate for the marginalized.
The final verse's promise that 'the upright shall dwell in thy presence' employs the verb yashab, evoking both temple residency and eschatological abiding, thereby transforming an immediate cry for rescue into a statement of eternal communion.