PSALMTER, Psalm 139 Psalm. To the head of the choir. Psalm of David.

Deliver me, Lord, from the evil man; save me from the oppressor: they think evil in their hearts, every day they take up arms in battle, they sharpen their tongue like a snake; the poison of the asp is under their lips. Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked, keep me from the oppressors who are planning to make my steps slip. The proud hid snares and snares for me, they spread a net along the road, they laid out snares for me. I said to the Lord: You are my God; Hear, O Lord, the voice of my prayers! Lord, Lord, the power of my salvation! You covered my head on the day of battle. Do not, Lord, give what the wicked wants; do not give success to his evil plan: they will become proud. May the evil of their own lips cover the heads of those around me. Let burning coals fall on them; let them be thrown into the fire, into the abyss, so that they will not rise up. A man of evil tongue will not be established on earth; evil will drag the oppressor to destruction. I know that the Lord will bring justice to the oppressed and justice to the poor. So! The righteous will praise Your name; the blameless will dwell before You.

PSALMS, Psalm 139.

Deliver me, O Lord, from the wicked man, deliver me from the unrighteous man; those who have thought untruth in their hearts will fight with the army all day long; having cut off your tongue like a serpent; the poison of asps is under their lips. Save me, O Lord, from the hand of sinners, take me away from the unrighteous people, who thought the heels of my feet. You hid the net of pride for me and the snakes, you tied the net for my feet; along the path, put temptations aside. Reh Lord; You are my God, inspire, O Lord, the voice of my prayer. Lord, Lord, the power of my salvation, shone over my head on the day of battle. Do not betray me, O Lord, from my desire to a sinner; Having thought on me, do not forsake me, lest they be exalted. The head of their surroundings, the labor of their lips will cover I. Coals of fire will fall on them if I cast them down in passion, and they will not stand. A pagan man will not reform on earth; The unrighteous and evil husband will be caught in destruction. I knew that the Lord would bring judgment to the poor and vengeance to the needy. Above all, the righteous will confess to your name, and the righteous will dwell with your presence.

It is no coincidence that the Psalter enjoys special love among believers. It contains the wisdom of the entire Bible, only in a more abbreviated form. Previously (and even now) psalms were used for singing, in which the Lord is exalted with all reverence. Psalm 139, like others, has a translation in Russian.

It is dedicated to not the brightest times that happen in everyone’s life, although the theological interpretation views even this situation from a positive side.

According to the author's plan, he continues to develop the theme of human enmity, which also sounds in the previous poems. Psalm 139 was written at a time when King David was hiding from his son Absalom. After some time, he managed to get out of Jerusalem and take refuge in the inaccessible mountains. But until then, the environment seems very dangerous to him. Every day he watches how his own offspring plots.

Not a single action of ill-wishers is hidden from the psalmist. Obviously, being related to the persecutor causes him special mental pain. The son did everything he could to turn everyone around him against the legitimate king: he tried to seduce his subjects with flattery, he slandered. Every day he plotted new tricks.

In the middle of the psalm, the author turns to the Lord as his only ally. He believes that he can hide him from his enemies. He asks that the misfortunes that ill-wishers are preparing for him will turn on their own heads. In Russian the text sounds more clear. After all, not everyone is familiar with the expressions of church language.

Text of Psalm 139 in Russian

Finally, a psalm to David	For execution. Psalm of David.
1 Deliver me, O Lord, from the wicked man, deliver me from the unrighteous man,	1 Save me, O Lord, from the evil man, deliver me from the unrighteous man:
2 Those who think unrighteousness in their hearts will fight all day long,	2 They plotted iniquity in their hearts, preparing for battle all day long;
3 They have cut off their tongue like a serpent, the poison of asps is under their lips.	3 They have sharpened their tongue like a snake; the poison of asps is in their mouth.
4 Save me, O Lord, from the hand of sinners; deliver me from the unrighteous men, who thought the heels of my feet.	4 Save me, O Lord, from the hand of the sinner; deliver me from unrighteous people, who are planning to cause my steps to be shaken.
5 The pride hid the net for me, and the snakes yoked the net for my feet.	5 The proud hid the net for me, and pulled the ropes, a snare for my feet;
6 Put away temptations along the path.	6 stumbling blocks were placed in my path.
7 Rekh of the Lord: Thou art my God, inspire, O Lord, the voice of my prayer.	7 I said to the Lord, “You are my God; Hear, O Lord, the voice of my prayer!”
8 Lord, Lord, the power of my salvation, thou hast overshadowed my head in the day of battle.	8 O Lord, O Lord, the power of my salvation, thou hast shone upon my head in the day of battle.
9 Deliver me not, O Lord, from my desire as a sinner: having thought against me, do not forsake me, lest they be exalted.	9 Deliver me not, O Lord, against my will, to a sinner. They plotted against me, do not leave me, so that they will never rise.
10 The head of their surroundings, the labor of their mouths will cover I.	10 The main thing for their circle - the labor of their lips - will cover them;
11 Coals of fire will fall on them, I cast them down in passion, and they will not stand.	11 Coals of fire will fall on them; you will overthrow them in torment, and they will not stand.
12 A heathen man will not be corrected on earth: an unrighteous and wicked man will be caught into corruption.	12 A man of evil tongue will not prosper on earth; an unrighteous man will be caught in evil to destruction.
13 I know that the Lord will bring judgment to the poor and vengeance to the needy.	13 I knew that the Lord would execute judgment for the poor and the cause of the needy.
14 Both the righteous will confess to Your name, and the righteous will dwell with Your face.	14 Thus the righteous will glorify Your name, and the upright will dwell before You.
Glory:	Glory:

Interpretation of Psalm 139

The biblical chapter begins rather gloomily - the man seems to see no end to his misfortunes. He looks for the most expressive epithets in order to describe the character of his enemies. David firmly believed that hated people deserved severe punishment from God. But is he in a hurry to punish them himself? Not at all, he leaves this matter to the Lord of the world, as every believer should do in such a situation.

Also, the creator of Psalm 139 does not expect help from others, although there were several faithful people near him. The king, persecuted by everyone, trusts his fate only to the Almighty. He is unequivocally confident that difficult circumstances will not last forever. It is precisely the example of firm trust in the Lord that the Orthodox should see in this psalm.

Why do they read?

Since apostolic times, Christians have returned again and again to holy words full of wisdom. Since here we are talking about protection from enemies, it is worth reading these verses 40 times in difficult times. This is how a person shows the Lord that he trusts in His support and believes in a successful outcome in any trouble.

Psalm 139 - text in Russian, interpretation, why read was last modified: September 20th, 2017 by Bogolub

I firmly trusted in the Lord, and He bowed down to me and heard my cry; He brought me out of the terrible pit, out of the muddy swamp, and set my feet on a rock and established my steps; and he put a new song in my mouth - praise to our God. Many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who places his hope in the Lord and does not turn to the proud or to those who turn to lies. You have done much, O Lord, my God: about Your miracles and Your thoughts about us - whoever will be like You! - I would like to preach and speak, but they exceed the number. You did not want sacrifices and offerings; You have opened my ears; You did not require burnt offerings or sin sacrifices. Then I said: here I come; in the scroll of the book it is written about me: I desire to do Thy will, O my God, and Thy law is in my heart. I have proclaimed Your righteousness in the great assembly; I did not forbid my mouth: You, Lord, know. I did not hide Your righteousness in my heart, I proclaimed Your faithfulness and Your salvation, I did not hide Your mercy and Your truth before the great assembly. Do not withhold, O Lord, Thy compassions from me; May Thy mercy and Thy truth protect me unceasingly, for innumerable troubles have surrounded me; My iniquities have come upon me, so that I cannot see them: they are more numerous than the hairs of my head; my heart has left me. Deign, O Lord, to deliver me; God! hurry to help me. May all who seek the destruction of my soul be ashamed and disgraced! May those who wish me harm be turned back and consigned to ridicule! Let those who say to me, “Good!” be dismayed by their shame. Fine! Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You, and let those who love Your salvation continually say: Great is the Lord! I am poor and needy, but the Lord cares for me. You are my help and my deliverer, my God! don't slow down.

Psalm 49

God of Gods, the Lord has spoken and called upon the earth, from the rising of the sun to the west. From Zion, which is the height of beauty, God appears, our God comes, and not in silence: before Him is a consuming fire, and around Him is a strong storm. He calls heaven and earth from above to judge His people: Gather to Me My saints, who entered into a covenant with Me through sacrifice. And the heavens will proclaim His righteousness, for this judge is God. Listen, My people, I will speak; Israel! I will testify against you: I am God, your God. It is not for your sacrifices that I will rebuke you; Your burnt offerings are always before Me; I will not accept the bull out of your house, nor the goats out of your folds, for all the wild beasts of the forest, and the cattle of a thousand mountains, are Mine, and I know all the birds of the mountains, and the animals of the fields, before Me. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the universe and everything that fills it are Mine. Do I eat the flesh of oxen and drink the blood of goats? Sacrifice praise to God and render your vows to the Most High, and call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you will glorify Me. But God says to the sinner: Why do you preach My statutes and take My covenant in your mouth, but you yourself hate My instruction and throw My words away for yourself? when you see a thief, you associate with him, and associate with adulterers; you open your mouth to slander, and your tongue weaves deceit; you sit and speak against your brother, you slander your mother’s son; you did this, and I was silent; you thought that I was the same as you. I will expose you and bring your sins before your eyes. Understand this, you who forget God, lest I take away, and there will be no deliverer. Whoever sacrifices praise honors Me, and whoever watches his path, I will show God’s salvation to him.

Psalm 53

When the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Is not David hiding among us? God! Save me in Your name, and judge me in Your power. God! Hear my prayer, listen to the words of my mouth, for strangers have risen up against me, and the mighty are seeking my soul; they do not have God before them. Behold, God is my helper; The Lord strengthens my soul. He will repay the evil of my enemies; By Your truth I will destroy them. I will diligently offer a sacrifice to You, I will glorify Your name, Lord, for it is good, for You delivered me from all troubles, and my eye looked on my enemies.

Psalm 58

Deliver me from my enemies, my God! protect me from those who rise up against me; deliver me from the workers of iniquity; save me from the bloodthirsty, for behold, they lie in wait for my soul; The mighty are gathered against me, not because of my transgression and not because of my sin, O Lord; without my fault they come running and arm themselves; move to help me and look. Thou, O Lord, God of hosts, God of Israel, arise to visit all nations, spare not one of the wicked wicked: in the evening they return, howl like dogs, and walk around the city; behold, they spew out blasphemy with their tongues; swords are in their mouths: they think, who hears? But You, Lord, will laugh at them; You will put all nations to shame. They have the power, but I resort to You, for God is my intercessor. My God, who has mercy on me, will go before me; God will allow me to look at my enemies. Do not kill them, lest my people forget; Scatter them with Thy power and overthrow them, O Lord our protector. The word of their tongue is the sin of their lips, so that they may be caught in their pride for the oath and lies that they utter. Waste them in anger, waste them so that they do not exist; and let them know that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth. Let them return in the evening, howl like dogs, and walk around the city; let them wander to find food, and let the unfed pass the night. And I will sing Your power and proclaim Your mercy from early morning, for You were my protection and refuge in the day of my distress. My strength! I will sing praises to you, for God is my intercessor, my God who has mercy on me.

Psalm 139

Deliver me, Lord, from the evil man; save me from the oppressor: they think evil in their hearts, every day they take up arms in battle, they sharpen their tongue like a snake; the poison of the asp is under their lips. Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked, keep me from the oppressors who are planning to make my steps slip. The proud hid snares and snares for me, they spread a net along the road, they laid out snares for me. I said to the Lord: You are my God; Hear, O Lord, the voice of my prayers! Lord, Lord, the power of my salvation! You covered my head on the day of battle. Do not, Lord, give what the wicked wants; do not give success to his evil plan: they will become proud. May the evil of their own lips cover the heads of those around me. Let burning coals fall on them; let them be thrown into the fire, into the abyss, so that they will not rise up. A man of evil tongue will not be established on earth; evil will drag the oppressor to destruction. I know that the Lord will bring justice to the oppressed and justice to the poor. So! The righteous will praise Your name; the blameless will dwell before You. Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man; save me from the oppressor: they think evil in their hearts, every day they take up arms in battle, they sharpen their tongue like a snake; the poison of the asp is under their lips. Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked, keep me from the oppressors who are planning to make my steps slip. The proud hid snares and snares for me, they spread a net along the road, they laid out snares for me. I said to the Lord: You are my God; Hear, O Lord, the voice of my prayers! Lord, Lord, the power of my salvation! You covered my head on the day of battle. Do not, Lord, give what the wicked wants; do not give success to his evil plan: they will become proud. May the evil of their own lips cover the heads of those around me. Let burning coals fall on them; let them be thrown into the fire, into the abyss, so that they will not rise up. A man of evil tongue will not be established on earth; evil will drag the oppressor to destruction. I know that the Lord will bring justice to the oppressed and justice to the poor. So! The righteous will praise Your name; the blameless will dwell before You.

Psalm 139 refers to songs of forgiveness; they are characterized by difficult circumstances of writing: captivity, flight, persecution, threat to life. King David experienced all this in his life, even flight and the threat of death from his own son.

This text is extremely important for a Christian; it contains not only the wisdom of the king, but also lays down the correct attitude of a Christian to difficulties and trials.

History of writing

The inscriptions in the Hebrew, Latin and Greek Psalms indicate that the author of this psalm is King David. In addition to the inscription, this fact is confirmed by the similarity of the text with Psalms 57 and 63 - their conclusions are almost the same. Moreover, Psalm 139 refers to songs of lamentation and petition, since in it David speaks of enemies who are shown in the text as very insidious and inventive.

Psalm 139 was written at a time when King David was hiding from his son Absalom

All these images, and most importantly, stylistic features are characteristic of the king’s songs in that historical period when the evil son Absalom was plotting against the reign of the singer.

Researchers say that the text was created at a time when Absalom had already begun to gather an army against his father, but had not yet begun an open confrontation. David was in Jerusalem at the time, but was already preparing to escape. The king was helpless against his cunning and treacherous son, could not do anything with him and was forced to silently watch as Absalom insidiously turned people against him.

Perhaps David did not fully believe that his son would dare to declare war; this is not known for sure.

Interpretation of the Psalm

The text begins gloomily - the author does not see salvation, he suffers spiritually and physically (the king was sick with something at that time). He complains about the enemies who pursue and long for the death of the author, but at the same time the singer trusts in God and asks Him to punish the enemies and do justice to everyone. Along with the author’s gloom and sadness, one can also see in the text his hope in the Heavenly Father.

Looking through the verses, one can observe the following picture:

Important! The main characteristic of King David was that he always trusted in God. He never despaired and did not accept the help of man before the help of God.

Reading rules

This psalm is read as part of kathisma 17 in Church Slavonic during weekly services and twice during Lent:

Deliver me, O Lord, from the wicked man, deliver me from the unrighteous man, who have thought unrighteousness in my heart, and fight with the army all day long, having sharpened my tongue like a serpent, the poison of asps under their lips. Save me, O Lord, from the hand of sinners, take me away from the unrighteous people, who thought the heels of my feet. Pride has hidden the net for me, and the snake has tied the net for my feet. Along the path, put temptations aside. Reh of the Lord: Thou art my God, inspire, O Lord, the voice of my prayer. Lord, Lord, the power of my salvation, you have overshadowed my head on the day of battle. Do not betray me, O Lord, from my desire as a sinner: having thought on me, do not forsake me, lest they be exalted. The head of their surroundings, the labor of their lips will cover I. Coals of fire will fall on them, cast me down in passion, and they will not stand. A pagan man will not be corrected on earth: an unrighteous and evil man will be caught into corruption. I knew that the Lord would bring judgment to the poor and vengeance to the needy. Both the righteous will confess to Your Name, and the righteous will dwell with Your face.

1 To the director of the choir. Psalm of David.

2 Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man; save me from the oppressor:

3 they think evil in their hearts, every day they take up arms in battle,

4 They sharpen their tongue like a serpent; the poison of the asp is under their lips.

5 Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; keep me from the oppressors who are planning to make my steps slip.

6 The proud have hidden snares and snares for me, they have spread a net along the road, they have laid out snares for me.

7 I said to the Lord: You are my God; Hear, O Lord, the voice of my prayers!

8 Lord, Lord, the power of my salvation! You covered my head on the day of battle.

9 O Lord, do not give what the wicked desires; do not give success to his evil plan: they will become proud.

10 Let the evil of their own lips cover the heads of those around me.

11 Let burning coals fall on them; let them be thrown into the fire, into the abyss, so that they will not rise up.

12 A man of evil tongue will not be established on earth; evil will drag the oppressor to destruction.

13 I know that the Lord will bring justice to the oppressed and justice to the poor.

14 Yes! The righteous will praise Your name; the blameless will dwell before You.

Advice! It is recommended to read the text in case of unfair treatment from loved ones, unfair trial, oppression at work and in personal life.

The song will strengthen the spirit of a Christian and allow him to concentrate not on oppression and trials, but on the mercy of the Creator.

Psalter. Psalm 139

For some of us, for example, for sellers, doctors, communicating with a large number of people is a professional necessity. Others' work may not involve communication. But we cannot completely exclude strangers from our lives. We go to the store, travel in public transport, interact with many people, and this communication is not always good for us. There are people who love to create scandals and quarrels, often being their initiator. They like to piss off their opponents. And if an ordinary person feels unpleasant during a conflict, then for a brawler, on the contrary, any quarrel is a source of positive emotions. By creating a conflict situation, they seem to recharge themselves at the expense of others. It is no coincidence that after meeting such people you feel devastated and extremely tired. And there are, as they say, simply “eye-catching” people: such a person will praise the child, but he will also be capricious. In such cases it helps a lot cleansing with Orthodox prayers. Read Psalms 63 and 139.

Psalm 139 test in Russian

To the head of the choir. Psalm of David.

Deliver me, Lord, from the evil man; save me from the oppressor:

they think evil in their hearts, every day they take up arms in battle,

they sharpen their tongue like a snake; the poison of the asp is under their lips.

Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked, keep me from the oppressors who are planning to make my steps slip.

The proud hid snares and snares for me, they spread a net along the road, they laid out snares for me.

I said to the Lord: You are my God; Hear, O Lord, the voice of my prayers!

Lord, Lord, the power of my salvation! You covered my head on the day of battle.

Do not, Lord, give what the wicked wants; do not give success to his evil plan: they will become proud.

May the evil of their own lips cover the heads of those around me.

Let burning coals fall on them; let them be thrown into the fire, into the abyss, so that they will not rise up.

A man of evil tongue will not be established on earth; evil will drag the oppressor to destruction.

I know that the Lord will bring justice to the oppressed and justice to the poor.

So! The righteous will praise Your name; the blameless will dwell before You.

Effective apartment cleaning with prayers

When moving into an apartment or house where someone has already lived before us, we try not only to thoroughly clean and wash our new home, but, if possible, to make repairs. We don't want to drag the dirt of others into our lives. But at the same time, we forget about one point. It is important not only to wash the home, but also to clean the space of the apartment itself. You don’t know what kind of people lived there before you - maybe they drank or argued with each other every day? You don't want the same thing to happen in your life, do you? Therefore, for truly effective cleaning of the apartment, you need to use very strong prayers. “Our Father”, “Virgin Mary”, “May God rise again” are suitable for these purposes. Mandatory cleaning of the church with prayers is carried out in such serious cases, when, for example, burglars have “worked” in the apartment.

Orthodox prayers to cleanse your own thoughts.

Sometimes not entirely correct thoughts arise in our heads. To be completely honest, we sometimes have sinful thoughts. Of course, we are then ashamed of such thoughts, and we repent. If this happened once and does not happen again, then there is nothing to worry about. But if temptations have become constant, you must definitely tell this in confession to the priest. And use for cleaning Orthodox of their thoughts prayers, for example "Psalm 36".