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Psalm 141:5-7
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 141:5-7
New Catholic Bible
5 [a]If a righteous man strikes me, I regard it as kindness;
if he rebukes me, it is oil on my head.[b]
But never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head,
for my prayer is always opposed to their evil deeds.
6 [c]When their leaders are flung down in stony places,
they will learn that my prayers were heard.
7 As the soil is shattered when the ground is plowed,
so our bones are scattered at the mouth of the netherworld.
Footnotes
- Psalm 141:5 The psalmist delineates the fate of evil rulers at God’s hands, and hopes that the shock may bring their followers to their senses.
- Psalm 141:5 Oil was poured on the head in a gesture of welcome and hospitality (see Lk 7:46).
- Psalm 141:6 The text of these verses is obscure and their meaning uncertain. As it stands here, the meaning of verse 7 may be: “As a farmer breaks up the soil and brings up the rocks, so the bones of the wicked will be scattered without a decent burial” (see Ps 79:2-3).
