Psalm 140 is the 140th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint version of the Bible, and the Latin Vulgate, this psalm is Psalm 139. In Latin, it is known as "Eripe me Domine ab homine malo". It is part of the final Davidic collection of psalms, comprising Psalms 138 to 145, which are specifically attributed to David in their opening verses. It describes putting one's trust in God while threatened with evil. The New King James Version entitles it a "Prayer for Deliverance from Evil Men". The psalm is used as a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies; it has been set to music.

Text

Hebrew

The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).

King James Version

In the Hebrew Bibles, Psalm 140 has 14 verses, because the header of the psalm, "For the Leader. A Psalm of David" is numbered as verse 1, whereas in many English Bibles this psalm has 13 verses, because the header (To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David in the NKJV) is not generally given a verse number.

Structure

The Hebrew word Selah, possibly an instruction on the reading of the text, breaks the psalm after verses 3, 5 and 8. C. S. Rodd argues that the psalm's structure is unclear, but suggests:

Uses

New Testament

In the New Testament, verse 3b, The poison of asps is under their lips, is quoted in Romans.

Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz composed a metred paraphrase of Psalm 140 in German, "Von bösen Menschen rette mich", SWV 245, for the Becker Psalter, published first in 1628. Éric Gaudibert composed a setting in Latin, Eripe me, Domine, for mixed double chorus a cappella in 1978. Herman Berlinski wrote A Psalm of Unity, for soprano, mezzo-soprano and two altos, with from Psalm 140 and Psalm 133 in 1980.