Psalms 141:1-5
Psalms 141:1-7 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.
Psalms 141:1-5 King James Version (KJV)
LORD, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; Give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee. 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.
Psalms 141:1-5 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
O LORD, I call upon You; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to You! 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.
Psalms 141:1-5 New Century Version (NCV)
LORD, I call to you. Come quickly. Listen to me when I call to you. 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.
Psalms 141:1-5 American Standard Version (ASV)
Jehovah, I have called upon thee; make haste unto me: Give ear unto my voice, when I call unto thee. 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.
Psalms 141:1-5 New International Version (NIV)
I call to you, LORD, come quickly to me; hear me when I call to you. 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.
Psalms 141:1-5 New King James Version (NKJV)
LORD, I cry out to You; Make haste to me! Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You. 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.
Psalms 141:1-5 Amplified Bible (AMP)
LORD, I call upon You; hurry to me. Listen to my voice when I call to You. 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]
Psalms 141:1-5 New Living Translation (NLT)
O LORD, I am calling to you. Please hurry! Listen when I cry to you for help! 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.
Psalms 141:1-5 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Please, Lord, come close and come quickly to help me! Listen to my prayer as I call out to you. 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.
Psalms 141:1-5 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you! 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.