Psalms 140–13
Psalm 140:1-13
Psa.140.1 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- למנצח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מזמור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לדוד: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 3:1 (verbal): Shares the exact superscription formula 'למנצח מזמור לדוד'—same musical direction ('To the Chief Musician') and Davidic attribution.
- Psalm 4:1 (verbal): Another psalm that opens with the identical heading 'למנצח מזמור לדוד', showing the same liturgical/authorial notation.
- Psalm 5:1 (verbal): Begins with the same superscription 'למנצח מזמור לדוד', paralleling the combined musical cue and Davidic authorship.
- Psalm 23:1 (structural): Opens with 'מזמור לדוד' ('A Psalm of David')—shares the Davidic authorship note though it lacks the explicit 'למנצח' musical direction, illustrating the common psalm-title tradition.
Alternative generated candidates
- To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
- To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
Psa.140.2 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- חלצני: VERB,piel,imp,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מאדם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רע: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- מאיש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חמסים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- תנצרני: VERB,niphal,impf,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 59:1-2 (verbal): Both open with the plea 'Deliver me, O LORD' and ask God to rescue the psalmist from hostile/violent men—the same petitionary language for protection.
- Psalm 143:9 (verbal): A closely parallel petition: 'Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies'—same verb and appeal for refuge from those who would harm.
- Psalm 7:1 (thematic): A prayer for refuge and salvation from persecutors—trusting God to save the petitioner from violent or pursuing enemies.
- Proverbs 2:12-15 (allusion): Speaks of deliverance 'from the way of evil men' and from men 'whose words are perverse' and 'violent'—echoing the same danger and need for rescue.
- Psalm 35:1-2 (thematic): Calls on the LORD to contend with and fight against those who do violence to the speaker—parallel concern for protection and vindication against violent men.
Alternative generated candidates
- Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man; preserve me from the man of violence.
- Deliver me, O LORD, from an evil man; preserve me from the man of violence.
Psa.140.3 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אשר: PRON,rel
- חשבו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- רעות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- בלב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כל: DET
- יום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יגורו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- מלחמות: NOUN,f,pl,construct
Parallels
- Psalm 64:4 (verbal): Uses nearly the same language—enemies "devise evil things in their heart" and the psalmist petitions God against those plotting harm.
- Psalm 36:4 (verbal): "He devises mischief upon his bed" (or 'in his heart')—a close verbal and thematic parallel about inward plotting of evil.
- Genesis 6:5 (verbal): "Every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" echoes the idea of persistent, daily evil thoughts in the heart.
- Isaiah 59:7-8 (thematic): Describes thoughts and actions that lead to violence and deceit—thematisation of inwardly conceived evil resulting in continual harm.
Alternative generated candidates
- They who devise evil in their hearts — all day long they are ready for conflict.
- They devise evil in their hearts; every day they are ready for strife.
Psa.140.4 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- שננו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לשונם: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+3,m,pl
- כמו: PREP
- נחש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חמת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- עכשוב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תחת: PREP
- שפתימו: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3mp
- סלה: MISC
Parallels
- Psalm 10:7 (verbal): Same accusation of speech: 'his mouth is full of cursing and deceit' and mischief 'under his tongue'—very close verbal parallel about deceitful, harmful speech.
- Psalm 58:4-5 (verbal): Uses serpent/venom imagery for hostile speech ('their poison is like the poison of a serpent; like the deaf cobra that stops its ear'), echoing the image of venom under the lips.
- Romans 3:13-14 (quotation): The NT echoes/quotes Hebrew poetic language about deceitful tongues and 'the poison of vipers' on the lips—an explicit New Testament citation/allusion to the OT corpus of similar sayings.
- Matthew 23:33 (allusion): Jesus' denunciation 'You serpents, you brood of vipers' employs the same serpent/venom motif to condemn hypocritical, harmful speech and behavior—thematic parallel in metaphor and intent.
Alternative generated candidates
- Their tongue is sharp as a serpent; the venom of a viper is under their lips. Selah.
- Their tongue is sharpened like a serpent’s; the venom of a viper is under their lips. Selah.
Psa.140.5 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- שמרני: VERB,piel,imp,2,ms
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מידי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- רשע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מאיש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חמסים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- תנצרני: VERB,qal,imp,2,ms
- אשר: PRON,rel
- חשבו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לדחות: VERB,qal,inf
- פעמי: NOUN,f,pl,cs
Parallels
- Psalm 140:1 (verbal): Near-identical petition: a direct plea for deliverance and preservation from evil/violent men—similar wording and intent.
- Psalm 59:1-2 (thematic): Asks God to deliver from enemies described as bloodthirsty or violent (‘men of blood’), echoing the call for protection from violent men.
- Psalm 64:2-6 (thematic): Describes secret plotting, snares and malicious counsel against the righteous—parallels the idea of enemies devising to overthrow the psalmist’s steps.
- Psalm 56:5 (verbal): Speaks of continual schemes and hostile thoughts against the psalmist (‘all their thoughts are against me for evil’), reflecting the motif of enemies devising to harm or trip the speaker.
Alternative generated candidates
- Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent — who have planned to make my feet stumble.
- Guard me, O LORD, from the hand of the wicked; preserve me from the man of violence who plots to trip my feet.
Psa.140.6 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- טמנו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- גאים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- פח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- וחבלים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- פרשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- רשת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ליד: PREP
- מעגל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מקשים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- שתו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- סלה: MISC
Parallels
- Psalm 35:7 (verbal): Uses nearly identical imagery—'they have hidden for me their net in a pit'—the same idiom of enemies laying a snare for the psalmist.
- Psalm 119:110 (verbal): Declares 'the wicked have laid a snare for me,' echoing the language of enemies setting traps against the righteous.
- Jeremiah 5:26 (thematic): Describes wicked men among the people who 'lay in wait, as he that setteth snares,' reflecting the same motif of conspirators ambushing the innocent.
- Psalm 91:3 (thematic): Speaks of deliverance 'from the snare of the fowler,' addressing the same danger of nets and snares but emphasizing God's rescue rather than the enemies' plot.
Alternative generated candidates
- The proud have set a snare for me; they have spread cords, laid a net by the wayside; they have hidden traps for me. Selah.
- Proud men have hidden a snare for me; they have spread a net, set gins by the roadside; they have laid a trap for my feet. Selah.
Psa.140.7 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אמרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- האזינה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- קול: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תחנוני: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1cs
Parallels
- Psalm 16:2 (verbal): Almost identical declaration: 'I say to the LORD, You are my Lord' — same self-address to Yahweh and confession of lordship.
- Psalm 5:1 (verbal): Opening petition with the plea 'Give ear to my words, O LORD'—parallels the request that the LORD attend to the psalmist's voice.
- Psalm 31:2 (thematic): Both verses implore God to 'incline' or 'give ear' and to deliver/rescue the petitioner—similar language of urgent supplication.
- Psalm 102:1 (verbal): Begins with 'Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you,' a direct plea for God to listen like Psalm 140:7's request to attend to the voice of supplication.
- Psalm 86:6 (verbal): 'Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer' echoes the same command to God to listen, matching both wording and the theme of urgent petition.
Alternative generated candidates
- I said to the LORD, 'You are my God.' O LORD, listen — hear the voice of my supplication.
- I said to the LORD, “You are my God; O LORD, hear the voice of my supplication.”
Psa.140.8 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- עז: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישועתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,1cs
- סכתה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לראשי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss:1,m,sg
- ביום: PREP
- נשק: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Exodus 15:2 (verbal): Uses the same language of God as 'strength' and 'salvation' (עֹז וְיִשְׁעָה/יְשׁוּעָה): 'The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.'
- Psalm 3:3 (verbal): Speaks of Yahweh as protector of the head in conflict—'But you, O LORD, are a shield about me; my glory, and the lifter of my head' — echoing the imagery of covering/protecting the head in battle.
- Psalm 18:2 (thematic): Portrays Yahweh as the speaker's stronghold and deliverer in war ('The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer'), paralleling Ps 140:8's depiction of God as strength/salvation in the day of battle.
- Psalm 27:1 (verbal): Declares 'The LORD is my light and my salvation,' directly echoing the theme of God as 'my salvation' found in Ps 140:8 and the confidence in God's rescue in danger.
Alternative generated candidates
- O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation — you have covered my head on the day of battle.
- O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation—you have covered my head in the day of battle.
Psa.140.9 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אל: NEG
- תתן: VERB,qal,imprf,2,_,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מאויי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- רשע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- זממו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אל: NEG
- תפק: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- ירומו: VERB,qal,juss,3,m,pl
- סלה: MISC
Parallels
- Psalm 7:14-16 (thematic): Describes the wicked devising evil and ultimately falling into the pit they dug—paralleling the petition that the schemes of the wicked succeed not and they not be exalted.
- Job 5:12 (verbal): States that God frustrates the plans of the crafty so their hands cannot carry out their enterprise—a close verbal/thematic parallel to refusing to give the wicked their desires or let their plots prosper.
- Isaiah 8:10 (allusion): Calls adversaries to take counsel and make plans that will be brought to nothing—echoing the plea that the wicked’s machinations not be established or exalted.
- Psalm 83:16-18 (thematic): Prays for the confounding and shame of enemies so their plans fail and they are brought low, matching the demand that God not grant the wicked’s designs or let them be lifted up.
Alternative generated candidates
- Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; do not let their schemes succeed. Selah.
- Do not give, O LORD, to the desires of the wicked; do not let their schemes succeed—do not lift them up. Selah.
Psa.140.10 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ראש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מסבי: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- עמל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שפתימו: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3mp
- יכסמו: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 31:18 (verbal): Direct verbal parallel — a prayer that lying/false lips be silenced (made mute), closely matching the petition that the enemies' lips be sealed.
- Psalm 35:4 (thematic): Imprecatory request that those who surround or seek the psalmist be put to shame and turned back; parallels the desire for humiliation of hostile surrounders.
- Psalm 69:25-28 (thematic): Series of imprecations calling for the desolation, punishment and confusion of the psalmist's enemies, echoing the wish that adversaries suffer and be disgraced.
- Psalm 83:16-18 (thematic): Prayer that enemies be confounded, shamed and perish so that God's name is exalted — similar language of disgrace and downfall for hostile nations or foes.
- Proverbs 10:31-32 (verbal): Contrast/parallel concerning speech: the mouth of the righteous brings wisdom while perverse/false tongues are to be cut off — resonates with the motif of silencing malicious lips.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let the head of those who surround me be weighed down with toil; may their lips be silenced.
- Let the heads of those who surround me be brought low; let the mischief of their lips cover them.
Psa.140.11 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ימוטו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- עליהם: PREP,3,m,pl
- גחלים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- באש: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יפלם: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- במהמרות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- בל: PART
- יקומו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Proverbs 25:22 (verbal): Uses the same motif of ‘coals of fire’ on an enemy’s head — imagery of punitive heat/ash falling upon the foe.
- Romans 12:20 (quotation): Paul cites Proverbs 25:21–22 (‘heap coals of fire on his head’) as a Christian ethic, echoing the coal-on-head imagery found in Ps 140:11.
- Psalm 7:15-16 (thematic): Describes an enemy digging a pit and then falling into it, with his mischief returning upon his own head — parallels the pit/net and retributive fall of Ps 140:11.
- Psalm 57:6 (thematic): Speaks of enemies preparing a net and digging a pit and then falling into the pit they made — closely parallels the ‘pit/net’ and falling imagery of Ps 140:11.
- Proverbs 26:27 (verbal): States that the one who digs a pit will fall into it — a succinct proverb version of the same theme of enemies’ schemes turning back on them as in Ps 140:11.
Alternative generated candidates
- May burning coals fall upon them; may they be cast into the fire, into pits — may they not rise again.
- Let burning coals fall upon them; let them be cast into fire, into pits—let them not rise again.
Psa.140.12 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לשון: NOUN,f,sg,constr
- בל: PART
- יכון: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חמס: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רע: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- יצודנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- למדחפת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 52:2-5 (verbal): Speaks of a deceitful tongue and declares God will uproot such a man from the land — closely parallels the imagery of a ‘man of tongue’/violent man not remaining in the land.
- Psalm 12:3 (verbal): Prays that the Lord would ‘cut off all flattering lips’ and every boastful tongue — a verbal parallel targeting harmful speech that should have no place.
- Psalm 5:6 (thematic): Declares God destroys those who speak lies and abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful — thematically echoes the rejection of violent/deceitful men from the land.
- Psalm 37:9-10 (thematic): Affirms that evildoers will be cut off and will not long remain in the land, while the righteous inherit the land — parallels the theme of wicked not dwelling in the land.
- Psalm 101:5 (structural): The psalmist vows not to tolerate those who secretly slander or are arrogant — structurally similar commitment to exclude deceitful/violent persons from continued place or office.
Alternative generated candidates
- A man of lying tongue shall not stand in the land; the man of violence and evil will be driven into sudden ruin.
- A man of false tongue shall not stand in the land; a man of violence shall be driven away into the snares.
Psa.140.13 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ידעתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
- כי: CONJ
- יעשה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- דין: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עני: ADJ,m,sg
- משפט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אבינים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Proverbs 22:22-23 (verbal): Both warn against oppressing the poor and state that the LORD will vindicate/plead the cause of the needy — a close verbal and thematic parallel to God executing justice for the afflicted.
- Psalm 10:18 (verbal): Explicitly prays that God will 'vindicate the fatherless and the oppressed,' echoing Psalm 140:13’s confidence that the LORD will do justice for the afflicted and poor.
- Psalm 146:7-9 (thematic): Describes the LORD as one who executes justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry, and protects the marginalized — a broader poetic parallel to God’s defense of the needy in Ps.140:13.
- Psalm 72:12-14 (thematic): Speaks of the righteous king delivering the needy and afflicted and judging their cause — thematically parallel in affirming divine care and justice for the poor.
- Isaiah 1:17 (thematic): Calls for seeking justice and defending the oppressed, aligning with Ps.140:13’s affirmation that the LORD will act to uphold justice for the afflicted and needy.
Alternative generated candidates
- I know that the LORD will uphold the cause of the afflicted and will vindicate the rights of the poor.
- I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted and will execute justice for the needy.
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
Rescue me, O LORD, from the evil man; preserve me from the violent man.
They devise evil in their hearts; all day long they stir up strife.
Sharpened is their tongue like a serpent; the venom of a viper is under their lips. Selah.
Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent—those who plot to make my feet stumble.
They have set a snare for me; a pit, and cords they have spread— a net alongside the ways; they have hidden snares for me. Selah.
I said to the LORD, "You are my God; O LORD, hear the voice of my supplication."
O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation—You have covered my head on the day of battle.
Do not give the wicked their desires, O LORD; do not let their schemes succeed. Selah.
Let the heads of those who surround me with harm be covered; may their lips be silenced.
Let burning coals fall upon them; into fire may they be cast—into deep pits, that they may not rise up.
A man of tongue shall not stand in the land; the man of violence and evil will be hunted down to ruin.
I know that the LORD will bring about justice for the oppressed; he will vindicate the cause of the needy.