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.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The psalmist directly petitions Yahweh for protection against immediate threats of physical and verbal violence. This request follows descriptions of the enemies' venomous speech and precedes details of their hidden snares.

The words — The Hebrew verbs שָׁמַר (shamar, "keep/guard") and תִּנְצְרֵ/נִי (tin-tze-re-ni, "you will preserve me") frame the plea for divine protection. The phrase מִיַּד רָשָׁע (mi-yad ra-sha', "from the hand of the wicked") specifies the source of the danger.

The thread — The appeal appears in Psalms 36:11, 17:5, and 71:4. These passages consistently link divine preservation with the prevention of stumbling or being driven away by violent opponents.

Why it lands — The text demands a direct appeal to God for physical and moral preservation against calculated enemies. It requires the reader to acknowledge dependence on divine intervention rather than self-reliance when facing coordinated hostility.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

שָׁמְרֵ֤נִיsha.me.Re./nikeep/ me יְהוָ֨ה׀Yah.wehO Yahweh מִ֘ידֵ֤יmi./Deifrom/ [the] hands of רָשָׁ֗עra.Sha'[the] wicked מֵאִ֣ישׁme./'Ishfrom/ a man of חֲמָסִ֣יםcha.ma.Simviolence<s>תִּנְצְרֵ֑נִיtin.tze.Re./niyou will preserve/ me אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sher[those] who חָ֝שְׁב֗וּcha.she.Vuthey have planned לִדְח֥וֹתli/d.Chotto/ trip up פְּעָמָֽי׃pe.'a.Ma/ifootsteps/ my

King James Version

Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings.

Cross-references

Psalms 36:11 Let not the foot of the proud come against me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
Psalms 17:5 My steps have held to Your paths; my feet have not slipped.
Psalms 71:4 Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and ruthless.
Psalms 17:8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings
Psalms 37:32 Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous, and seek to slay them,
Psalms 55:1 For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. Listen to my prayer, O God, and do not ignore my plea.
Proverbs 18:5 Showing partiality to the wicked is not good, nor is depriving the innocent of justice.