<div class="version vid107 iso6393eng" data-vid="107" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch141" data-usfm="PSA.141">
 <div class="label">141</div><div class="s1">Psalm 141#sn Psalm 141. The psalmist asks God to protect him from sin and from sinful men.</div><div class="s2">A psalm of David.</div><div class="p">1 O Lord, I cry out to you. Come quickly to me!</div><div class="p">Pay attention to me when I cry out to you!</div><div class="p">2 May you accept my prayer like incense,</div><div class="p">my uplifted hands like the evening offering!#tn Heb &#8220;may my prayer be established [like] incense before you, the uplifting of my hands [like] an evening offering.&#8221;</div><div class="p">3 O Lord, place a guard on my mouth!</div><div class="p">Protect the opening#tn Heb &#8220;door.&#8221; The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT. of my lips!#sn My mouth&#8230;my lips. The psalmist asks God to protect him from speaking inappropriately or sinfully.</div><div class="p">4 Do not let me have evil desires,#tn Heb &#8220;do not turn my heart toward an evil thing.&#8221;</div><div class="p">or participate in sinful activities</div><div class="p">with men who behave wickedly.#tn Heb &#8220;to act sinfully in practices in wickedness with men, doers of evil.&#8221;</div><div class="p">I will not eat their delicacies.#sn Their delicacies. This probably refers to the enjoyment that a sinful lifestyle appears to offer.</div><div class="p">5 May the godly strike me in love and correct me!</div><div class="p">May my head not refuse#tn The form &#1497;&#1464;&#1504;&#1460;&#1497; (yaniy) appears to be derived from the verbal root &#1504;&#1493;&#1468;&#1488; (nu&#8217;). Another option is to emend the form to &#1497;&#1456;&#1504;&#1464;&#1488; (y&#255;na&#8217;), a Piel from &#1504;&#1464;&#1488;&#1464;&#1492; (na&#8217;ah), and translate &#8220;may choice oil not adorn my head&#8221; (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 271). In this case, choice oil, like delicacies in v. 4, symbolize the pleasures of sin. choice oil!#sn May my head not refuse choice oil. The psalmist compares the constructive criticism of the godly (see the previous line) to having refreshing olive oil poured over one&#8217;s head.</div><div class="p">Indeed, my prayer is a witness against their evil deeds.#tc Heb &#8220;for still, and my prayer [is] against their evil deeds.&#8221; The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult; the sequence -&#1499;&#1468;&#1460;&#1497;&#1470;&#1506;&#1493;&#1465;&#1491; &#1493;&#1468; (kiy-&#8217;od u-, &#8220;for still and&#8221;) occurs only here. The translation assumes an emendation to &#1499;&#1468;&#1460;&#1497; &#1506;&#1461;&#1491; &#1514;&#1456;&#1508;&#1500;&#1468;&#1464;&#1514;&#1460;&#1497; (&#8220;indeed a witness [is] my prayer&#8221;). The psalmist&#8217;s lament about the evil actions of sinful men (see v. 4) testifies against the wicked in the divine court.</div><div class="p">6 They will be thrown down the side of a cliff by their judges.#tn Heb &#8220;they are thrown down by the hands of a cliff, their judges.&#8221; The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult and the meaning uncertain. The perfect verbal form is understood as rhetorical; the psalmist describes the anticipated downfall of the wicked as if it had already occurred. &#8220;Their judges&#8221; could be taken as the subject of the verb, but this makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes the judges are the agents and that the wicked, mentioned earlier in the psalm, are the subjects of the verb.</div><div class="p">They#tn It is unclear how this statement relates to the preceding sentence. Perhaps the judges are the referent of the pronominal subject (&#8220;they&#8221;) of the verb &#8220;will listen,&#8221; and &#8220;my words&#8221; are the referent of the pronominal subject (&#8220;they&#8221;) of the phrase &#8220;are pleasant.&#8221; The psalmist may be affirming here his confidence that he will be vindicated when he presents his case before the judges, while the wicked will be punished. will listen to my words, for they are pleasant.</div><div class="p">7 As when one plows and breaks up the soil,#tn Heb &#8220;like splitting and breaking open in the earth.&#8221; The meaning of the statement and the point of the comparison are not entirely clear. Perhaps the psalmist is suggesting that he and other godly individuals are as good as dead; their bones are scattered about like dirt that is dug up and tossed aside.</div><div class="p">so our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.</div><div class="p">8 Surely I am looking to you,#tn Heb &#8220;my eyes [are] toward you.&#8221; O sovereign Lord.</div><div class="p">In you I take shelter.</div><div class="p">Do not expose me to danger!#tn Heb &#8220;do not lay bare my life.&#8221; Only here is the Piel form of the verb collocated with the term &#1504;&#1462;&#1508;&#1462;&#1513;&#1473; (nefesh, &#8220;life&#8221;). In Isa 53:12 the Lord&#8217;s servant &#8220;lays bare (the Hiphil form of the verb is used) his life to death.&#8221;</div><div class="p">9 Protect me from the snare they have laid for me,</div><div class="p">and the traps the evildoers have set.#tn Heb &#8220;and the traps of the doers of evil.&#8221;</div><div class="p">10 Let the wicked fall#tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer. Another option is to translate, &#8220;the wicked will fall.&#8221; into their#tn Heb &#8220;his.&#8221; own nets,</div><div class="p">while I escape.#tn Heb &#8220;at the same [that] I, until I pass by.&#8221; Another option is to take &#1497;&#1463;&#1495;&#1463;&#1491; (yakhad) with the preceding line, &#8220;let the wicked fall together into their own nets.&#8221;</div>
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O LORD, I cry out to you. Come quickly to me!
Pay attention to me when I cry out to you!
May you accept my prayer like incense,
my uplifted hands like the evening offering!
O LORD, place a guard on my mouth!
Protect the opening of my lips!
Do not let me have evil desires,
or participate in sinful activities
with men who behave wickedly.
I will not eat their delicacies.
May the godly strike me in love and correct me!
May my head not refuse choice oil!
Indeed, my prayer is a witness against their evil deeds.
They will be thrown down the side of a cliff by their judges.
They will listen to my words, for they are pleasant.
As when one plows and breaks up the soil,
so our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
Surely I am looking to you, O sovereign LORD.
In you I take shelter.
Do not expose me to danger!
Protect me from the snare they have laid for me,
and the traps the evildoers have set.
Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I escape.

සවන් දෙන්න Psalms 141