Font Size
Psalm 141:3-5
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 141:3-5
New Catholic Bible
3 [a]Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not permit my heart to be drawn to evil,
or to the pursuit of wicked deeds
in the company of those who do evil;
let me not share in their corruption.
5 [b]If a righteous man strikes me, I regard it as kindness;
if he rebukes me, it is oil on my head.[c]
But never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head,
for my prayer is always opposed to their evil deeds.
Footnotes
- Psalm 141:3 The psalmist, like the sages, carefully watches over his heart so as not to give in to sins of speech or action, for he knows that the wicked use their tongues for destruction (see Ps 140:4) while the righteous express love and fidelity (see Ps 15:2f). He begs the Lord to keep his heart from sin and temptation so that he may do God’s will (see Ps 119:10, 36, 133). Let me not share in their corruption: literally, “let me not eat of their delicacies.”
- Psalm 141:5 The psalmist delineates the fate of evil rulers at God’s hands, and hopes that the shock may bring their followers to their senses.
- Psalm 141:5 Oil was poured on the head in a gesture of welcome and hospitality (see Lk 7:46).
