Psalm 140

1 [For the choirmaster Psalm Of David] Rescue me, Yahweh, from evil men, protect me from violent men,

2 whose heart is bent on malice, day after day they harbor strife;

3 their tongues as barbed as a serpent's, viper's venom behind their lips.Pause

4 Keep me, Yahweh, from the clutches of the wicked, protect me from violent men, who are bent on making me stumble, laying out snares where I walk,

5 in their arrogance hiding pitfall and noose to trap me as I pass.Pause

6 I said to Yahweh, 'You are my God.' Listen, Yahweh, to the sound of my prayer.

7 Yahweh my Lord, my saving strength, you shield my head when battle comes.

8 Yahweh, do not grant the wicked their wishes, do not let their plots succeed.Pause Do not let my attackers

9 prevail, but let them be overwhelmed by their own malice.

10 May red-hot embers rain down on them, may they be flung into the mire once and for all.

11 May the slanderer find no rest anywhere, may evil hunt down violent men implacably.

12 I know that Yahweh will give judgement for the wretched, justice for the needy.

13 The upright shall praise your name, the honest dwell in your presence.