Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men.
Protect me from men of violence,
2
who devise evil in their hearts
and stir up war all day long.
3
They sharpen their tongues like snakes;
the venom of vipers is on their lips.a
Selah
4
Guard me, O LORD,
from the hands of the wicked.
Keep me safe from men of violence
who scheme to make me stumble.
5
The proud hide a snare for me;
the cords of their net are spread along the path,
and lures are set out for me.
Selah
6
I say to the LORD, “You are my God.”
Hear, O LORD, my cry for help.
7
O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation,
You shield my head in the day of battle.
8
Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
do not promote their evil plans,
lest they be exalted.
Selah
9
May the heads of those who surround me
be covered in the trouble their lips have caused.
10
May burning coals fall on them;
may they be thrown into the fire,
into the miry pits, never to rise again.
11
May no slanderer be established in the land;
may calamity hunt down the man of violence.