Psalms 141:2-8
Psalms 141:1-10 The Message (MSG)
GOD, come close. Come quickly! Open your ears—it’s my voice you’re hearing! Treat my prayer as sweet incense rising; my raised hands are my evening prayers. Post a guard at my mouth, GOD, set a watch at the door of my lips. Don’t let me so much as dream of evil or thoughtlessly fall into bad company. And these people who only do wrong— don’t let them lure me with their sweet talk! May the Just One set me straight, may the Kind One correct me, Don’t let sin anoint my head. I’m praying hard against their evil ways! Oh, let their leaders be pushed off a high rock cliff; make them face the music. Like a rock pulverized by a maul, let their bones be scattered at the gates of hell. But GOD, dear Lord, I only have eyes for you. Since I’ve run for dear life to you, take good care of me. Protect me from their evil scheming, from all their demonic subterfuge. Let the wicked fall flat on their faces, while I walk off without a scratch.
Psalms 141:2-8 King James Version (KJV)
Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; And the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; Keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, To practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: And let me not eat of their dainties. Let the righteous smite me; It shall be a kindness: And let him reprove me; It shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: For yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities. When their judges are overthrown in stony places, They shall hear my words; for they are sweet. Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, As when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth. But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord: In thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.
Psalms 141:2-8 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
May my prayer be counted as incense before You; The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering. Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice deeds of wickedness With men who do iniquity; And do not let me eat of their delicacies. Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me; It is oil upon the head; Do not let my head refuse it, For still my prayer is against their wicked deeds. Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock, And they hear my words, for they are pleasant. As when one plows and breaks open the earth, Our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol. For my eyes are toward You, O GOD, the Lord; In You I take refuge; do not leave me defenseless.
Psalms 141:2-8 New Century Version (NCV)
Let my prayer be like incense placed before you, and my praise like the evening sacrifice. LORD, help me control my tongue; help me be careful about what I say. Take away my desire to do evil or to join others in doing wrong. Don’t let me eat tasty food with those who do evil. If a good person punished me, that would be kind. If he corrected me, that would be like perfumed oil on my head. I shouldn’t refuse it. But I pray against those who do evil. Let their leaders be thrown down the cliffs. Then people will know that I have spoken correctly: “The ground is plowed and broken up. In the same way, our bones have been scattered at the grave.” GOD, I look to you for help. I trust in you, LORD. Don’t let me die.
Psalms 141:2-8 American Standard Version (ASV)
Let my prayer be set forth as incense before thee; The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Set a watch, O Jehovah, before my mouth; Keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, To practise deeds of wickedness With men that work iniquity: And let me not eat of their dainties. Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness; And let him reprove me, it shall be as oil upon the head; Let not my head refuse it: For even in their wickedness shall my prayer continue. Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock; And they shall hear my words; for they are sweet. As when one ploweth and cleaveth the earth, Our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol. For mine eyes are unto thee, O Jehovah the Lord: In thee do I take refuge; leave not my soul destitute.
Psalms 141:2-8 New International Version (NIV)
May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies. Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness; let him rebuke me—that is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it, for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers. Their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs, and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken. They will say, “As one plows and breaks up the earth, so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave.” But my eyes are fixed on you, Sovereign LORD; in you I take refuge—do not give me over to death.
Psalms 141:2-8 New King James Version (NKJV)
Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice wicked works With men who work iniquity; And do not let me eat of their delicacies. Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked. Their judges are overthrown by the sides of the cliff, And they hear my words, for they are sweet. Our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave, As when one plows and breaks up the earth. But my eyes are upon You, O GOD the Lord; In You I take refuge; Do not leave my soul destitute.
Psalms 141:2-8 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Let my prayer be counted as incense before You; The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering. [1 Tim 2:8; Rev 8:3, 4] Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips [to keep me from speaking thoughtlessly]. Do not incline my heart to [consent to or tolerate] any evil thing, Or to practice deeds of wickedness With men who plan and do evil; And let me not eat of their delicacies (be tempted by their gain). ¶Let the righteous [thoughtfully] strike (correct) me—it is a kindness [done to encourage my spiritual maturity]. It is [the choicest anointing] oil on the head; Let my head not refuse [to accept and acknowledge and learn from] it; For still my prayer is against their wicked deeds. [Prov 9:8; 19:25; 25:12; Gal 6:1] Their [wicked, godless] judges are thrown down the sides of the rocky cliff, And they [who followed them] will hear my words, for they are pleasant (just). As when the one plows and breaks open the ground [and the soil scatters behind him], Our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol [by the injustices of the wicked]. [2 Cor 1:9] ¶For my eyes are toward You, O GOD, the Lord; In You I take refuge; do not pour out my life nor leave me defenseless.
Psalms 141:2-8 New Living Translation (NLT)
Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering. Take control of what I say, O LORD, and guard my lips. Don’t let me drift toward evil or take part in acts of wickedness. Don’t let me share in the delicacies of those who do wrong. Let the godly strike me! It will be a kindness! If they correct me, it is soothing medicine. Don’t let me refuse it. But I pray constantly against the wicked and their deeds. When their leaders are thrown down from a cliff, the wicked will listen to my words and find them true. Like rocks brought up by a plow, the bones of the wicked will lie scattered without burial. I look to you for help, O Sovereign LORD. You are my refuge; don’t let them kill me.
Psalms 141:2-8 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Let my prayer be as the evening sacrifice that burns like fragrant incense, rising as my offering to you as I lift up my hands in surrendered worship! God, give me grace to guard my lips from speaking what is wrong. Guide me away from temptation and doing evil. Save me from sinful habits and from keeping company with those who are experts in evil. Help me not to share in their sin in any way! When one of your godly ones corrects me or one of your faithful ones rebukes me, I will accept it like an honor I cannot refuse. It will be as healing medicine that I swallow without an offended heart. Even if they are mistaken, I will continue to pray. When the leaders and judges are condemned, falling upon the rocks of justice, then they’ll know my words to them were true! Like an earthquake splits open the earth, so the world of hell will open its mouth to swallow their scattered bones. But you are my Lord and my God; I only have eyes for you! I hide myself in you, so don’t leave me defenseless.
Psalms 141:2-8 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! Do 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! Let 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. When their judges are thrown over the cliff, then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant. As when one plows and breaks up the earth, so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol. But my eyes are toward you, O GOD, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!