Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil Men

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

¹yDeliver me, O Lord, from evil men;

preserve me from zviolent men,

²who plan evil things in their heart

and astir up wars continually.

³They make btheir tongue sharp as ca serpent's,

and dunder their lips is the evenom of asps. Selah

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

preserve me from zviolent men,

who have planned to trip up my feet.

⁵The arrogant have fhidden a trap for me,

and with cords they have spread ga net;1

beside the way they have set hsnares for me. Selah

⁶iI say to the Lord, You are my God;

give ear to jthe voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord!

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

you have covered my head in the day of battle.

⁸lGrant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;

do not further their2 evil plot, or mthey will be exalted! Selah

⁹As for the head of those who surround me,

let nthe mischief of their lips overwhelm them!

¹⁰Let oburning coals fall upon them!

Let them be cast into fire,

into miry pits, no more to rise!

¹¹Let not the slanderer be established in the land;

let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

¹²I know that the Lord will pmaintain the cause of the afflicted,

and qwill execute justice for the needy.

¹³Surely rthe righteous shall give thanks to your name;

sthe upright shall dwell in your presence.

Give Ear to My Voice

A Psalm of David.

¹O Lord, I call upon you; thasten to me!

Give ear to my voice when I call to you!

²Let umy prayer be counted as incense before you,

and vthe lifting up of my hands as wthe evening sacrifice!

³xSet a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;

ykeep watch over the door of my lips!

⁴zDo not let my heart incline to any evil,

to busy myself with wicked deeds

in company with men who awork iniquity,

and blet me not eat of their delicacies!

⁵cLet a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;

let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;

let my head not refuse it.

Yet dmy prayer is continually against their evil deeds.

⁶When their judges are ethrown over the cliff,1

then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.

⁷As when one plows and breaks up the earth,

so shall our bones fbe scattered at the mouth of Sheol.2

⁸But gmy eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord;

hin you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!3

⁹Keep me from ithe trap that they have laid for me

and from the snares of evildoers!

¹⁰Let the wicked jfall into their own nets,

while I pass by safely.