Psalm 140

To the director.* One of David’s songs of praise.

¹Lord, save me from evil people. Protect me from cruel people. ²Those people plan to do evil things. Those people always start fights. ³Their tongues are like poisonous snakes. It is like snake poison is under their tongue. SELAH* ⁴Lord, save me from wicked people. Protect me from cruel people. Those people chase me and try to hurt me. ⁵Those proud people set a trap for me. They spread a net to catch me. They set a trap in my path. SELAH* ⁶Lord, you are my God. Lord, listen to my prayer. ⁷Lord, you are my strong Master. You are my Savior. You are like a helmet protecting my head in battle. ⁸Lord, those people are wicked. Don’t let them have what they want. Don’t let their plans succeed. SELAH* ⁹Lord, don’t let my enemies win. Those people are planning bad things. But make those bad things happen to them. ¹⁰Pour burning coals on their heads. Throw my enemies into the fire. Throw them into the pit (grave) that they will never climb out of. ¹¹Lord, don’t let those liars live. Make bad things happen to those bad people. ¹²I know the Lord will judge poor people fairly. God will help helpless people. ¹³Good people will praise your name, Lord. Good people will worship you.

director Or, “performer.” SELAH This word is for the musicians. It probably means the singers should pause here or the music should be louder here.

Psalm 141

One of David’s songs of praise.

¹Lord, I call to you for help. Listen to me while I pray to you. Hurry and help me! ²Lord, accept my prayer. Let it be like a gift of burning incense. Let it be like the evening sacrifice.* ³Lord, help me control the things I say. Help me watch what I say. ⁴Don’t let me want to do bad things. Stop me from joining bad people when they do wrong. Don’t let me share the things those bad people enjoy doing. ⁵A good person can correct me. That would be kind of him. Your followers can criticize me. It would be good for them to do that. I would accept that. But I will always pray against the bad things those bad people do. ⁶Let their rulers be punished. Then people will know I spoke the truth. ⁷People dig and plow the ground. And spread the dirt around. In the same way, our bones will be spread around in their grave. ⁸Lord my Master, I look to you for help. I trust you. Please don’t let me die. ⁹Bad people set traps for me. Don’t let me fall into their traps. Don’t let them trap me. ¹⁰Let wicked people fall into their own trap, while I walk away unharmed.

sacrifice(s) A sacrifice was a gift to God. Usually, it was a special animal that was killed and burned on an altar.

Psalm 142

A maskil* of David. This is a prayer from the time he was in the cave.

¹I will call to the Lord for help. I will pray to the Lord. ²I will tell the Lord about my problems. I will tell the Lord about my troubles. ³My enemies have set a trap for me. I am ready to give up. But the Lord knows what is happening to me. ⁴I look around, and I don’t see any of my friends. I have no place to run. No person is trying to save me. ⁵So I cry to the Lord for help. Lord, you are my place of safety. Lord, you can let me continue to live. ⁶Lord, listen to my prayer. I need you very much. Save me from the people who chase me. Those people are too strong for me. ⁷Help me escape this trap* so I can praise your name. And good people will celebrate with me because you took care of me.

maskil The exact meaning of maskil is not known. It might mean, “a poem of meditation,” “a poem of instruction," or “a skillfully written poem.” trap Literally, “frame around my soul.”

Psalm 143

One of David’s songs of praise.

¹Lord, hear my prayer. Listen to my prayer. And then answer my prayer. Show me that you are truly good and loyal. ²Don’t judge me, your servant. Never, in all my life, could I ever be judged innocent. ³But my enemies are chasing me. They have crushed my life into the dirt. They are pushing me into the dark grave, like people who died long ago. ⁴I am ready to give up. I am losing my courage. ⁵But I remember the things that happened long ago. I am thinking about the many things you did. I am talking about the things you did with your great power! ⁶Lord, I lift my arms and pray to you. I am waiting for your help, like a dry land waiting for rain. SELAH* ⁷Hurry, answer me Lord! I have lost my courage. Don’t turn away from me. Don’t let me die and become like the dead people lying in the grave. ⁸Lord, show me your true love this morning. I trust you. Show me the things I should do. I put my life in your hands! ⁹Lord, I come to you for protection. Save me from my enemies. ¹⁰Show me what you want me to do. You are my God. ¹¹Lord, let me live, so people will praise your name. Show me that you are truly good, and save me from my enemies. ¹²Lord, show me your love, and defeat my enemies who are trying to kill me. Why? Because I am your servant.

SELAH This word is for the musicians. It probably means the singers should pause here or the music should be louder here.

Psalm 144

{A song} of David.*

¹The Lord is my Rock,* Bless the Lord. The Lord trains me for war. The Lord trains me for battle. ²The Lord loves me and protects me. The Lord is my safe place high on the mountain. The Lord rescues me. The Lord is my shield. I trust him. The Lord helps me rule my people. ³Lord, why are people important to you? Why do you even notice us? ⁴A person’s life is like a puff of air. A person’s life is like a passing shadow. ⁵Lord, tear open the skies and come down. Touch the mountains and smoke will rise from them. ⁶Lord, send the lightning and make my enemies run away. Shoot your “arrows” and make them run away. ⁷Lord, reach down from heaven and save me! Don’t let me drown in this sea of enemies. Save me from these foreigners. ⁸These enemies are liars. They say things that are not true. ⁹Lord, I will sing a new song about the wonderful things you do. I will praise you and play the harp with ten strings. ¹⁰The Lord helps kings win their wars. The Lord saved his servant David from his enemy’s swords. ¹¹Save me from these foreigners. These enemies are liars. They say things that are not true. ¹²Our young sons are like strong trees. Our daughters are like the beautiful decorations in the palace. ¹³Our barns are filled with all kinds of crops. There are thousands and thousands of sheep in our fields. ¹⁴Our soldiers are safe. No enemy is trying to break in. We are not going to war. People are not screaming in our streets. ¹⁵At times like this, people are very happy. People are very happy if the Lord is their God.

{A song} of David Or, “A song dedicated to David.” Rock A name for God to show he is a strong place of safety.