Psalms — Chapter 141
A psalm of David.I call You, O ETERNAL One, hasten to me;give ear to my cry when I call You.
Take my prayer as an offering of incense,my upraised hands as an evening sacrifice.
O ETERNAL One, set a guard over my mouth,a watch at the door of my lips;
let my mind not turn to an evil thing,to practice deeds of wickednesswith those evildoers;athose evildoers Or “grandees who do evil”; force of Heb. uncertain. let me not feast on their dainties.
bMeaning of verses uncertain. Let someone righteous strike me in loyaltyand reprove me;let my head not refuse such choice oil.My prayers are still against theirctheir I.e., the evildoers of v. 4. evil deeds.
May their judges slip on the rock,but let my words be heard, for they are sweet.
As when the earth is cleft and broken upour bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
My eyes are fixed upon You, O GOD my Sovereign;I seek refuge in You, do not put me in jeopardy.
Keep me from the trap laid for me,and from the snares of evildoers.
Let the wicked fall into their netswhile I alone come through.
✦ Connected Across Traditions
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Dhammapada 1:1-2
“Mind is the forerunner of all actions. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow.”
Bhagavad Gita 16:21
“There are three gates to self-destructive hell: lust, anger, and greed. Therefore, one must learn to give these up.”