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Do not permit my heart to be drawn to evil,
    or to the pursuit of wicked deeds
in the company of those who do evil;
    let me not share in their corruption.
[a]If a righteous man strikes me, I regard it as kindness;
    if he rebukes me, it is oil on my head.[b]
But never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head,
    for my prayer is always opposed to their evil deeds.
[c]When their leaders are flung down in stony places,
    they will learn that my prayers were heard.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 141:5 The psalmist delineates the fate of evil rulers at God’s hands, and hopes that the shock may bring their followers to their senses.
  2. Psalm 141:5 Oil was poured on the head in a gesture of welcome and hospitality (see Lk 7:46).
  3. Psalm 141:6 The text of these verses is obscure and their meaning uncertain. As it stands here, the meaning of verse 7 may be: “As a farmer breaks up the soil and brings up the rocks, so the bones of the wicked will be scattered without a decent burial” (see Ps 79:2-3).