English Standard Version ESV
The Message Bible MSG
1 Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men; preserve me from violent men,
1
God, get me out of here, away from this evil; protect me from these vicious people.
2 who plan evil things in their heart and stir up wars continually.
2
All they do is think up new ways to be bad; they spend their days plotting war games.
3 They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's, and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah
3
They practice the sharp rhetoric of hate and hurt, speak venomous words that maim and kill.
4 Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men, who have planned to trip up my feet.
4
God, keep me out of the clutch of these wicked ones, protect me from these vicious people;
5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me, and with cords they have spread a net; beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah
5
Stuffed with self-importance, they plot ways to trip me up, determined to bring me down. These crooks invent traps to catch me and do their best to incriminate me.
6 I say to the LORD, You are my God; give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!
6
I prayed, "God, you're my God! Listen, God! Mercy!
7 O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle.
7
God, my Lord, Strong Savior, protect me when the fighting breaks out!
8 Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah
8
Don't let the wicked have their way, God, don't give them an inch!"
9 As for the head of those who surround me, let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
9
These troublemakers all around me - let them drown in their own verbal poison.
10 Let burning coals fall upon them! Let them be cast into fire, into miry pits, no more to rise!
10
Let God pile hellfire on them, let him bury them alive in crevasses!
11 Let not the slanderer be established in the land; let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!
11
These loudmouths - don't let them be taken seriously; These savages - let the Devil hunt them down!
12 I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will execute justice for the needy.
12
I know that you, God, are on the side of victims, that you care for the rights of the poor.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall dwell in your presence.
13
And I know that the righteous personally thank you, that good people are secure in your presence.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.