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Do not grant the desires of the wicked, O Lord;
    do not permit their evil plots to succeed,
    or they will become proud. Selah
10 [a]Those who surround me raise up their heads;
    let them be overwhelmed by the malice they threaten.
11 May burning coals rain down on them;
    may they be flung down into the miry depths,
    never again to rise.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 140:10 The psalmist’s plea now becomes an imprecatory prayer, which is an expression for God’s just rule. Using metaphors for the divine judgment (burning coals and miry depths), he asks for redress (see notes on Pss 5:11; 35).
  2. Psalm 140:11 Allusion to Sodom (see Gen 19) and Dathan (see Num 16). See also Pss 11:6; 36:13; 55:24; 141:10.

Those who surround me proudly rear their heads;
    may the mischief of their lips engulf them.(A)
10 May burning coals fall on them;
    may they be thrown into the fire,(B)
    into miry pits, never to rise.
11 May slanderers not be established in the land;
    may disaster hunt down the violent.(C)

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