English Standard Version
Psalms 140:9
9As for the head of those who surround me, let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
Psalms 140:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them.
- New International Version (NIV)Those who surround me proudly rear their heads; may the mischief of their lips engulf them.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“As for the head of those who surround me, Let the evil of their lips cover them;
- New Living Translation (NLT)Let my enemies be destroyed by the very evil they have planned for me.
Context of Psalms 140:9
7O Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle. 8Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah As for the head of those who surround me, let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them! 10Let burning coals fall upon them! Let them be cast into fire, into miry pits, no more to rise! 11Let not the slanderer be established in the land; let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!
Read all of Psalms 140Psalms 140:9 word by word
רֹ֥אשׁ מְסִבָּ֑י עֲמַ֖ל שְׂפָתֵ֣ימוֹ יְכַסֵּֽמוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 140:9
- Psalms 7:16His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends.
- Psalms 64:8They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them; all who see them will wag their heads.
- Psalms 94:23He will bring back on them their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the Lord our God will wipe them out.
- Esther 5:14Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, "Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast." This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.
- Esther 7:10So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated.
- Proverbs 10:6Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
- Proverbs 12:13An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous escapes from trouble.
- Proverbs 18:7A fool's mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.
- Matthew 27:25And all the people answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!"
Commentaries on Psalms 140:9
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9As for the head of those that compass me about - Luther renders this, “The calamity which my enemies design against me must fall upon their own heads.” The passage stands in contrast with Psalm 140:7: “Thou hast covered my head,” etc. As for his own head, it had been protected in the day of battle. In reference now to the heads of his enemies - of those that compassed him about - he prays that what they had designed for “his” head might come by a just…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-13Verses 8-13 Believers may pray that God would not grant the desires of the wicked, nor further their evil devices. False accusers will bring mischief upon themselves, even the burning coals of Divine vengeance. And surely the righteous shall dwell in God's presence, and give him thanks for evermore. This is true thanksgiving, even thanks-living: this use we should make of all our deliverances, we should serve God the more closely and cheerfully. Those…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9-11The psalmist prays for God’s judgment on the wicked.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. Contrasts his head covered by God (Psa 140:7) with theirs, or (as "head" may be used for "persons") with them, covered with the results of their wicked deeds (Psa 7:16).Read the comment
- Rashi on Tanakh · v. 9the desires of the wicked The wicked Esau.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 140:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 140
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
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