Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil Men

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

¹Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;

preserve me from violent men,

²who plan evil things in their heart

and stir up wars continually.

³They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's,

and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah

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

preserve me from violent men,

who have planned to trip up my feet.

⁵The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,

and with cords they have spread a net;1

beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah

⁶I say to the Lord, You are my God;

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

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

you have covered my head in the day of battle.

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

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

⁹As for the head of those who surround me,

let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!

¹⁰Let burning 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 maintain the cause of the afflicted,

and will execute justice for the needy.

¹³Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;

the upright shall dwell in your presence.

Give Ear to My Voice

A Psalm of David.

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

Give ear to my voice when I call to you!

²Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,

and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!

³Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;

keep watch over the door of my lips!

⁴Do not let my heart incline to any evil,

to busy myself with wicked deeds

in company with men who work iniquity,

and let me not eat of their delicacies!

⁵Let 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 my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.

⁶When their judges are thrown 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 be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.2

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

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

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

and from the snares of evildoers!

¹⁰Let the wicked fall into their own nets,

while I pass by safely.