^1aTo the choirmaster.↑

A Psalm of David.

^1bDeliver me, O Lord, from the evil man,

And protect me from the man of violence

²– Those who have devised evil in their heart.

Every day they convene for wars.

³They have sharpened their tongue like a serpent;

Selah.

⁴Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;

Protect me from the man of violence,

For they have planned to overturn my steps.

⁵The proud have hidden a trap for me, and cords,

They have spread out a net to the side of the path;

They have set snares for me.

Selah.

⁶I have said to the Lord,

“You are my God.”

Listen, O Lord,

To the utterance of my supplications.

⁷O Lord my Lord, the strength of my salvation,

You protected my head on the day of battle.

⁸O Lord, do not grant the wicked man his desires;

Do not further his scheming

By which such men become exalted.

Selah.

⁹As for the head men of those who surround me,

May the invective of their lips overwhelm them.

¹⁰May burning coals tumble down on them,

May he cause them to fall into the fire;

May they not rise from the floods.

¹¹Do not let a slanderer be established in the land,

Nor an evil man of violence.

May he hunt him to destruction.

¹² I know that the Lord will defend the interest of the poor

And the justice of the needy.

¹³Surely the righteous will give thanks to your name,

And the upright will dwell in your presence.

Reference(s) in Chapter 140: v.3 ↔ Romans 3:13.