The LORD Implored to Defend the Psalmist against the Wicked.
O LORD my God, ain You I have taken refuge;Save me from all those who pursue me, and bdeliver me,I.e. Dithyrambic rhythm; or wild passionate songOr concerning the words ofPs 31:1; 71:1Ps 31:152 Or he will tear 1my soul alike a lion,2Dragging me away, while there is none to deliver.Or meOr Rending it in pieces, whilePs 57:4; Is 38:13
3 O LORD my God, if I have done this,If there is ainjustice in my hands,1 Sam 24:114 If I have arewarded evil to 1my friend,Or have bplundered 2him who without cause was my adversary,Lit him who was at peace with meOr my adversary without causePs 109:4, 51 Sam 24:7; 26:95 Let the enemy pursue 1my soul and overtake 2it;And let him trample my life down to the groundAnd lay my glory in the dust.3Selah.Or meOr meSelah may mean: Pause, Crescendo or Musical interlude
6 aArise, O LORD, in Your anger;bLift up Yourself against cthe rage of my adversaries,And darouse Yourself 1for me; You have appointed judgment.One ancient version reads O my GodPs 3:7Ps 94:2Ps 138:7Ps 35:23; 44:237 Let the assembly of the apeoples encompass You,And over 1them return on high.Lit itPs 22:278 The LORD ajudges the peoples;1bVindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.Lit JudgePs 96:13; 98:9Ps 18:20; 26:1; 35:24; 43:19 O let athe evil of the wicked come to an end, but bestablish the righteous;For the righteous God ctries the hearts and 1minds.Lit kidneys, figurative for inner manPs 34:21; 94:23Ps 37:23; 40:2Ps 11:4, 5; Jer 11:20; Rev 2:2310 My ashield is 1with God,Who bsaves the upright in heart.Lit uponPs 18:2, 30Ps 97:10, 11; 125:411 God is a arighteous judge,And a God who has bindignation every day.Ps 50:6Ps 90:9
12 If 1a man adoes not repent, He will bsharpen His sword;He has cbent His bow and 2made it ready.Lit heLit fixed itPs 58:5Deut 32:41Ps 64:713 He has also prepared 1for Himself deadly weapons;He makes His aarrows fiery shafts.Or His deadly weaponsPs 18:14; 45:514 Behold, he travails with wickedness,And he aconceives mischief and brings forth falsehood.Job 15:35; Is 59:4; James 1:1515 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,And has afallen into the hole which he made.Job 4:8; Ps 57:616 His amischief will return upon his own head,And his bviolence will descend upon 1his own pate.I.e. the crown of his own headEsth 9:25; Ps 140:9Ps 140:11