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Psalm 141
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 141
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 141[a]
Prayer for Deliverance from the Wicked
1 A psalm of David.
Lord, I call to you; hasten to me;
listen to my plea when I call.
2 Let my prayer be incense[b] before you;
my uplifted hands an evening offering.(A)
3 Set a guard, Lord, before my mouth,
keep watch over the door of my lips.(B)
4 Do not let my heart incline to evil,
to perform deeds in wickedness.
On the delicacies of evildoers
let me not feast.
5 [c]Let a righteous person strike me; it is mercy if he reproves me.
Do not withhold oil from my head(C)
while my prayer opposes their evil deeds.
6 May their leaders be cast over the cliff,
so that they hear that my speeches are pleasing.
7 Like the plowing and breaking up of the earth,
our bones are strewn at the mouth of Sheol.
8 For my eyes are upon you, O Lord, my Lord;(D)
in you I take refuge; do not take away my soul.
9 Guard me from the trap they have set for me,
from the snares of evildoers.(E)
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while only I pass over them safely.
Footnotes
- Psalm 141 A lament of an individual (Ps 141:1–2) who is keenly aware that only the righteous can worship God properly and who therefore prays to be protected from the doomed wicked (Ps 141:3–10).
- 141:2 Incense: lit., “smoke,” i.e., the fragrant fumes arising from the altar at the burning of sacrificial animals or of aromatic spices; also used in Rev 5:8 as a symbol of prayer. My uplifted hands: the gesture of supplication, cf. Ps 28:2; 63:5; 88:10; 119:48; 134:2; 143:6.
- 141:5–7 The Hebrew text is obscure.
Psalm 141
New International Version
Psalm 141
New International Version
Psalm 141
A psalm of David.
1 I call to you, Lord, come quickly(A) to me;
hear me(B) when I call to you.
2 May my prayer be set before you like incense;(C)
may the lifting up of my hands(D) be like the evening sacrifice.(E)
3 Set a guard over my mouth,(F) Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.(G)
4 Do not let my heart(H) be drawn to what is evil
so that I take part in wicked deeds(I)
along with those who are evildoers;
do not let me eat their delicacies.(J)
5 Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness;
let him rebuke me(K)—that is oil on my head.(L)
My head will not refuse it,
for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers.
Psalm 141
King James Version
Psalm 141
King James Version
141 Lord, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.
2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
3 Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
4 Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.
5 Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.
6 When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.
7 Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth.
8 But mine eyes are unto thee, O God the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.
9 Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I withal escape.
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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