1 To him that excelleth. A Psalme of David. Deliuer me, O Lord, from the euill man: preserue me from the cruel man: 2 Which imagine euill things in their heart, and make warre continually. 3 They haue sharpened their tongues like a serpent: adders poyson is vnder their lips. Selah. 4 Keepe mee, O Lord, from the handes of the wicked: preserue mee from the cruell man, which purposeth to cause my steppes to slide. 5 The proude haue layde a snare for me, and spred a nette with cordes in my pathway, and set grennes for me. Selah. 6 Therefore I saide vnto the Lord, Thou art my God: heare, O Lord, the voyce of my prayers. 7 O Lord God the strength of my saluation, thou hast couered mine head in the day of battel. 8 Let not the wicked haue his desire, O Lord: performe not his wicked thought, least they be proude. Selah. 9 As for the chiefe of them, that compasse me about, let the mischiefe of their owne lippes come vpon them. 10 Let coles fal vpon them: let him cast them into the fire, and into the deepe pits, that they rise not. 11 For the backbiter shall not be established vpon the earth: euill shall hunt the cruell man to destruction. 12 I know that the Lord will auenge the afflicted, and iudge the poore. 13 Surely the righteous shall prayse thy Name, and the iust shall dwell in thy presence.
Psalm 140 Geneva Bible (1599)
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (2)
- Greek and Latin Bibles number most Psalms one lower than Hebrew and English Bibles.
- Original 16th-century spelling.
Cross references (13)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Psalm 18:48; Psalm 140:4; Psalm 71:4; Habakkuk 1:2–3; Psalm 17:13
- 2 Psalm 56:6; Psalm 36:4; Psalm 64:5–6; Proverbs 12:20; Psalm 120:7
- 3 Psalm 58:4; Romans 3:13–14; 2 Corinthians 11:3; Proverbs 23:32; Jeremiah 9:5
- 4 Psalm 36:11; Psalm 17:5; Psalm 71:4; Psalm 37:32–40; Psalm 17:8–9
- 5 Psalm 142:3; Psalm 35:7; Jeremiah 18:22; Jeremiah 18:20; Luke 20:20–23
- 6 Psalm 16:2; Psalm 31:14; Psalm 119:57; Psalm 142:5; Zechariah 13:9
- 7 Psalm 62:7; Psalm 18:1–2; Psalm 89:26; Psalm 62:2; Deuteronomy 33:27–29
- 8 Psalm 10:2–3; Psalm 27:12; Job 5:12–13; 2 Samuel 15:31; Deuteronomy 32:27
- 9 Psalm 7:16; Proverbs 18:7; Psalm 94:23; Proverbs 12:13; Proverbs 10:11
- 10 Psalm 11:6; Psalm 21:9; Revelation 20:15; Revelation 21:8; Exodus 9:23–24
- 11 Psalm 34:21; Proverbs 18:21; Isaiah 3:11; Proverbs 13:21; Proverbs 17:20
- 12 Psalm 9:4; 1 Kings 8:49; 1 Kings 8:45; Proverbs 23:10–11; Jeremiah 22:16
- 13 Psalm 16:11; Psalm 11:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:17; Isaiah 3:10; John 17:24
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
Our Lord Jesus Christ speaketh in the Prophets, sometimes in His own Name, sometimes in ours, because He maketh Himself one with us; as it is said, "they twain shall be one flesh." Wherefore also the Lord saith in the Gospel, speaking of marriage, "therefore they are no more twain, but one flesh." One flesh, because of our mortality He …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)
"For adder's poison," it is said, "is under their lips, and their throat is an open sepulchre." But theirs are not so, but full of much fragrance.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)