1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men. Protect me from men of violence, 2 who devise evil in their hearts and stir up war all day long. 3 They sharpen their tongues like snakes; the venom of vipers is on their lips. Selah 4 Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked. Keep me safe from men of violence who scheme to make me stumble. 5 The proud hide a snare for me; the cords of their net are spread along the path, and lures are set out for me. Selah 6 I say to the LORD, “You are my God.” Hear, O LORD, my cry for help. 7 O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You shield my head in the day of battle. 8 Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; do not promote their evil plans, lest they be exalted. Selah 9 May the heads of those who surround me be covered in the trouble their lips have caused. 10 May burning coals fall on them; may they be thrown into the fire, into the miry pits, never to rise again. 11 May no slanderer be established in the land; may calamity hunt down the man of violence. 12 I know that the LORD upholds justice for the poor and defends the cause of the needy. 13 Surely the righteous will praise Your name; the upright will dwell in Your presence.
Psalms · Majority Standard Bible
Psalm 140 Majority Standard Bible
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- Greek and Latin Bibles number most Psalms one lower than Hebrew and English Bibles.
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)