Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Psalms 140:1 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 1. 1Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man;
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 140:1: The petition “Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man” belongs to the prayer “Rescue from violent plotting and slander,” not to an isolated command.
Rescue is asked from violent men whose tongues are already weapons
This verse is one part of that explanation in Psalms 140:1–13. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Psalms 140:1–13
Read Psalms 140:1 with 140:1–13. Read alone, “Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man” could lose the individual voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 140:1–13, the individual voice carries the movement “Rescue from violent plotting and slander” as part of “Rescue from violent plotting and slander.” Its lament form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Psalms 140:1–13 opens Psalm 140 with “Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man” and establishes the individual voice and “Rescue from violent plotting and slander” movement before later lines develop or answer it. Within that relationship, Psalm 140:1 directs a petition or address toward God in “Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man” rather than turning the line into a command against another person.
Follow the Context
- Identify the individual voice, address, and parallel lines in Psalms 140:1–13; do not make every “I”, “we,” king, enemy, or worshiper interchangeable.
- Within Psalms 140:1–13, the individual voice carries the movement “Rescue from violent plotting and slander” as part of “Rescue from violent plotting and slander.” Its lament form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
- This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The psalm names concrete violent patterns; it cannot be used to label ordinary opponents evil or justify counter-violence.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Psalms 140:1 does not allow “Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man” to become an independent promise, command, accusation, doctrine, or authorization. This verse directs a petition or address toward God in “Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man” rather than turning the line into a command against another person. The complete movement is “Rescue from violent plotting and slander.” This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The psalm names concrete violent patterns; it cannot be used to label ordinary opponents evil or justify counter-violence.
What Remains True
In “Rescue from violent plotting and slander,” Psalm 140:1 directs a petition or address toward God in “Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man” rather than turning the line into a command against another person. The resulting truth stays bounded by this movement: Wrong and rage may be named honestly before the LORD, yet judgment remains accountable to justice and never turns another person into disposable prey. The local movement is “Rescue from violent plotting and slander.” The unit's reviewed limit is: The psalm names concrete violent patterns; it cannot be used to label ordinary opponents evil or justify counter-violence.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Psalms 140:1–13 — Rescue from violent plotting and slanderSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
Where care is needed
The psalm names concrete violent patterns; it cannot be used to label ordinary opponents evil or justify counter-violence.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 140:1–13, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 140:1–13
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 140:1–13.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 140 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 140:1–13
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗modern scholarly book course
Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Fred Gaiser; revised by Nicholas Schaser
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised May 2024
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Psalms course, Introductory Issues: individual and communal lament, from lament to praise, and Bible in the World; applied to Psalms 140:1–13
Open the Enter the Bible Psalms course ↗ancient greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms
Albert Pietersma
International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Oxford University Press, 2009
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
Exact location: NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 140 for Psalms 140:1–13
Open NETS Psalms ↗peer reviewed open access research overview
An Overview of the Study of Imprecatory Psalms: Reformed and Evangelical Approaches to the Interpretation of Imprecatory Psalms
Daniel Simango and P. Paul Krüger
Old Testament Essays 29.3, 2016
Supports: Major historical, literary, covenantal, ethical, and reception approaches to curses and enemy language.
Exact location: Simango and Krüger, 'An Overview of the Study of Imprecatory Psalms,' OTE 29.3 (2016), pp. 581–600, complete approach survey; applied to Psalms 140:1–13
Open the imprecatory-psalm overview ↗peer reviewed open access literary and ethical study
Embracing the Psalter's imprecatory words in the 21st century
Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford
Acta Theologica Supplementum 32, 2021
Supports: Imprecation retained as difficult prayer and communal speech without converting violent wishes into commands or erasing Jewish reception.
Exact location: deClaissé-Walford, 'Embracing the Psalter's imprecatory words,' Acta Theologica Suppl. 32 (2021), pp. 275–292, especially literary, liturgical, trauma, and ethical proposal; applied to Psalms 140:1–13
Open deClaissé-Walford on imprecation ↗