Psalms 140:6

STROPHE III

"I said unto Jehovah, Thou art my God:

Give ear unto the voice of my supplications, O Jehovah.

O Jehovah the Lord, the strength of my salvation,

Thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.

Grant not, O Jehovah, the desires of the wicked;

Further not his evil device, lest they exalt themselves.

(Selah)"

The mention of "war" in Psalms 140:2, and the mention of victory in the day of "battle" are clearly not the words of a man fleeing from King Saul. The speaker here is a king against whom a war is planned and who here thanks God for victory in a previous battle.

Here again the terminology and thought-patterns correspond exactly with other Davidic psalms. See Psalms 16:2; Psalms 28:4; and Psalms 112:10.

"Further not his evil device" (Psalms 140:8). "The Hebrew phrase from which this comes is, `Do not let issue successfully his evil device.'[11]

The RSV closes the strophe here, placing the "Selah" at the end of this clause. We are not able to judge if this is an improvement or not. It appears to us that the meaning is not greatly affected by the change.