Psalms 140:1
in Psalms 140Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men. Protect me from men of violence,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Deliver me, O Jehovah, from the evil man; Preserve me from the violent man:
KJV
Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man;
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This verse in Psalms 140
Commentary
11 notes on this verseSnatch me away, O Lord, from the evil man. The devil cannot deceive us so much by himself as he can through the instrument of a man; and it is from this that the prophet prays to be delivered.
This site's exposition
Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men
on Psalms 140:1-3
The danger named is men of violence who devise evil in the heart and stir up war all day. The weapon is the tongue, sharpened like a snake, with the venom of vipers on the lips. Romans 3:13 quotes that last line word for word.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"Deliver me, O Lord, from the wicked man" [Psalm 140:1]. Not from one only, but from the class; not from the vessels only, but from their prince himself, that is, the devil. Why "from man," if he meaneth from the devil? Because he too is called a man in a figure. ...Now then being made light, not in ourselves, but in the Lord, let us pray not only against darkness, that is, against sinners, whom still the devil possesseth, but also against their prince, the devil himself, who worketh in the children of disobedience. "Deliver me from the unrighteous man." The same as "from the wicked man." For he called him wicked because unrighteous, lest perchance thou shouldest think that any unrighteous man could be a good man. For many unrighteous men seem to be harmless; they are not fierce, are not savage, do not persecute nor oppress; yet are they unrighteous, because, following some other habit, they are luxurious, drunkards, given to pleasure. ...Wicked then is every unrighteous man, who must needs be harmful, whether he be gentle or fierce. Whoever falls in his way, whoever is taken by his snares, will find how harmful is that which he thought harmless. For, brethren, even thorns prick not with their roots. Pull up thorns from the ground, handle their roots, and see whether thou feelest pain. Yet that in the upgrowth which causeth thee pain, proceeded from that root. Let not then men please you who seem gentle and kind, yet are lovers of carnal pleasure, followers of polluted lusts, let them not please you. Though as yet they seem gentle, they are roots of thorns. ...And so, my brethren, body of Christ, members of Christ groaning among such wicked men, whomsoever ye find hurrying headlong into evil lusts and deadly pleasures, at once chide, at once punish, at once burn. Let the root be burnt, and there remaineth not whence the thorn may grow up. […]
Indeed, from where comes evil for man, if not from man? Count how many things people suffer from externally. What does not seem to be done by human beings is very few. Evils abound for man from man. Theft by man, he suffered adultery in his wife by man, his servant was seduced by man, he was deceived by man, proscribed by man, attacked by man, led captive by man. Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man. Now you, whoever you are listening, think only of the enemy, whom you endure as a nearby evil, powerful, companion, citizen. Perhaps you think of the thief when you hear: Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man; and thus you pray, when you pray, that God may deliver you from an evil man, whether this or that enemy of yours. Do not be evil to yourself. Hear me: may God deliver you from yourself. For when God by His grace and mercy makes you good from evil; from what does He make you good, from what does He deliver you, if not from yourself, the evil man? Absolutely, my brothers, this is true, this is certain, this is fixed: if God has delivered you from yourself, the evil man, no other evil man will be able to harm you.
The Reformation1 voice
Being as he was a figure of Christ, we need not wonder that the agents of the devil directed so much of their rage against him. And this is the reason why he animadverts so sharply upon their rancor and treachery.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Keep me from doing as they do, or as they would have me do, or as they promise themselves I shall do." Note, The more malice appears in our enemies against us the more earnest we should be in prayer to God to take us under his protection. In him believers may count upon a security, and may enjoy it and themselves with a holy serenity. Those are safe whom God preserves.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man,.... Either Saul; so Theodoret; or rather Doeg, according to R. Obadiah: but Jarchi interprets it of Esau; by whom he means Edom, or Rome, or rather the Christians in general. Were his sense confined to the Papists, he might be thought to be much in the right; for this is applicable enough to the man of sin, and his followers: for it may be understood collectively of a body of evil men; all men are evil by nature, their hearts, thoughts, words, works, and ways.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man. It reads like a clause of the Lord's prayer, "Deliver us from evil." David does not so much plead against an individual as against the species represented by him, namely, the being whose best description is—"the evil man." There are many such abroad; indeed we shall not find an unregenerate man who is not in some sense an evil man, and yet all are not alike evil. It is well for us that our enemies are evil: it would be a horrible thing to have the good against us.
Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man. It reads like a clause of the Lord's prayer, "Deliver us from evil." David does not so much plead against an individual as against the species represented by him, namely, the being whose best description is—"the evil man." There are many such abroad; indeed we shall not find an unregenerate man who is not in some sense an evil man, and yet all are not alike evil. It is well for us that our enemies are evil: it would be a horrible thing to have the good against us. When "the evil man" bestirs himself against the godly he is as terrible a being as a wolf, or a serpent, or even a devil. Fierce, implacable, unpitying, unrelenting, unscrupulous, he cares for nothing but the indulgence of his malice. The persecuted man turns to God in prayer; he could not do a wiser thing. Who can meet the evil man and defeat him save Jehovah himself, whose infinite goodness is more than a match for all the evil in the universe? We cannot of ourselves baffle the craft of the enemy, but the Lord knoweth how to deliver his saints. He can keep us out of the enemy's reach, he can sustain us when under his power, he can rescue us when our doom seems fixed, he can give us the victory when defeat seems certain; and in any and every case, if he do not save us from the man he can keep us from the evil. Should we be at this moment oppressed in any measure by ungodly men, it will be better to leave our defence with God than to attempt it ourselves. Preserve me from the violent man. Evil in the heart simmers in malice, and at last boils in passion. Evil is a ragtag thing when it getteth liberty to manifest itself; and so "the evil man" soon develops into "the violent man" What watchfulness, strength, or valour can preserve the child of God from deceit and violence? There is but one sure Preserver, and it is our wisdom to hide under the shadow of his wings.
From the evil man - Saul, who was full of envy, jealousy, and cruelty against David, to whom both himself and his kingdom were under the highest obligations, endeavored by every means to destroy him.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man - That is, evidently from some particular man who was endeavoring to injure him; some personal enemy. All the circumstances mentioned agree well with the supposition that Saul is intended. Preserve me from the violent man - Margin, as in Hebrew, “man of violences.” That is, one who has committed violence so often, who has so frequently done wrong, that this may be considered a characteristic of the man. This would apply well to the repeated acts of Saul in persecuting David, and endeavoring to do him injury.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חַלְּצֵ֣נִי | chaletzeni | rescue me | H2502 → | 44 times |
| יְ֭הוָה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מֵאָדָ֣ם | meadam | from a man | H120 → | 551 times |
| רָ֑ע | ra' | evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| מֵאִ֖ישׁ | meish | from a man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| חֲמָסִ֣ים | chamasim | violence<s> | H2555 → | 60 times |
| תִּנְצְרֵֽנִי׃ | tintzereni | you will preserve me | H5341 → | 63 times |
חַלְּצֵ֣נִיrescue me
chaletzeniH2502 →44 times
יְ֭הוָהO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מֵאָדָ֣םfrom a man
meadamH120 →551 times
רָ֑עevil
ra'H7451 →662 times
מֵאִ֖ישׁfrom a man of
meishH376 →1663 times
חֲמָסִ֣יםviolence<s>
chamasimH2555 →60 times
תִּנְצְרֵֽנִי׃you will preserve me
tintzereniH5341 →63 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 71:4Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and ruthless.
it leads to
- Psalms 59:1–2
Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise against me.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 59:1–2
Through
Psalms 140:4Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked. Keep me safe from men of violence who scheme to make me stumble.
it leads to
- Psalms 17:8–9
Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 36:11
Let not the foot of the proud come against me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
- Psalms 71:4
Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and ruthless.
- Psalms 17:5
My steps have held to Your paths; my feet have not slipped.
- Psalms 17:8–9
Through
Psalms 18:48who delivers me from my enemies. You exalt me above my foes; You rescue me from violent men.
it leads to
- Psalms 140:11
May no slanderer be established in the land; may calamity hunt down the man of violence.
- Psalms 140:4
Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked. Keep me safe from men of violence who scheme to make me stumble.
- Psalms 86:14
The arrogant rise against me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life, with no regard for You.
- Psalms 140:11
About Psalms
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 140; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 297:9; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7; Jerome, Homily 50, on Psalm 139; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.