Psalms 140:8 · Bible study
Psalms 140:8 Commentary: A Prayer Against the Pride of the Wicked
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Psalm 140:8 is David's plea for God to frustrate the wicked's plans. Examine its meaning, key debates, and how Christians pray for justice and conversion.
Research Summary
- Meaning: A plea for God to prevent the wicked from achieving their harmful goals, so they do not become proud.
- Key words: “desires” (what the wicked crave), “device” (their plan or scheme), “exalt themselves” (the spiritual danger of success).
- Main debate: Whether this is an imprecatory prayer for punishment or a redemptive prayer that seeks to limit the damage of sin (Barnes: part of praying for conversion).
- Theological theme: God’s sovereign restraint over evil and the relationship between justice and humility.
- Best use: A model for honest lament and a prompt to trust God’s timing in the face of injustice.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; do not promote their evil plans, lest they be exalted. Selah
WEB World English Bible 2000
Yahweh, don’t grant the desires of the wicked. Don’t let their evil plans succeed, or they will become proud. Selah.
KJV King James Version 1769
Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked: further not his wicked device; lest they exalt themselves. Selah.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Grant not, O Jehovah, the desires of the wicked; Further not his evil device, lest they exalt themselves. [Selah
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Grant not, O Jehovah, the desires of the wicked, His wicked device bring not forth, They are high. Selah.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Grant not, O Jehovah, the desire of the wicked; further not his device: they would exalt themselves. Selah.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
But to thee, O Lord, Lord, are my eyes: in thee have I put my trust, take not away my soul.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
No des, oh Jehová, al impío sus deseos; no saques adelante su pensamiento, que no se ensoberbezca. ( Selah.)
Não concedas ao perverso os desejos dele, SENHOR; não permitas suceder seu plano maligno, pois senão se exaltariam. (Selá)
Éternel, Seigneur, force de mon salut!
HERR, laß dem Gottlosen seine Begierde nicht; stärke seinen Mutwillen nicht: sie möchten sich des überheben. ( Sela.)
HEERE, Heere, Sterkte mijns heils! Gij hebt mijn hoofd bedekt ten dage der wapening.
Non concedere, o Eterno, agli empi quel che desiderano; non dar compimento ai loro disegni, che talora non s’esaltino. Sela.
O Panie, Panie mocy zbawienia mego, który przykrywasz głowę moję w dzień bitwy!
Но к Тебе, Господи, Господи, очи мои; на Тебя уповаю, не отринь души моей!
耶和華啊，求你不要 遂 惡人 的心願；不要 成就 他們的計謀，恐怕他們自高。（細拉）
O Lord, give not the wrongdoer his desire; give him no help in his evil designs, or he may be uplifted in pride. (Selah.)
Verse in Context
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that this verse is a prayer for God to prevent the wicked from accomplishing their harmful intentions. Barnes states that it is “proper to pray that the desires of the wicked … may not be granted to them,” because success would only increase their arrogance and harm. Gill emphasises that the desires of wicked men are always under God’s restraint; the psalmist begs that they not be given free rein. The explicit motive, lest they exalt themselves, draws attention to the spiritual danger of prosperity for the unrepentant. Matthew Henry notes that proud men become prouder when their schemes succeed, and so praying against their progress is both merciful to others and protective of the wicked themselves. Calvin, focusing on David’s personal enemies, sees the petition as part of a larger cry for justice from the oppressed. The shared core is an appeal for divine intervention so that evil designs fail, an appeal that Christian tradition has understood as consistent with praying for the wicked’s conversion.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Prayer for divine justice and protection: David’s immediate context of physical danger and God’s role as defender of the afflicted (vv. 12-13).
- Prayer oriented toward the wicked’s repentance: Barnes argues that praying against their success is part of a desire for conversion, since prosperity confirms them in sin.
- Imprecatory/punitive prayer: The surrounding verses (vv.9-11) call for burning coals and pits, suggesting a desire for direct punishment.
What is clear: The verse is a plea that God would not allow the wicked’s plans to succeed, with the explicit goal of preventing them from exalting themselves in pride.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the prayer: imprecatory or redemptive? | The verse is a request for God to intervene so that evil does not succeed. All agree God has the authority to restrain the wicked. | Some see it as a straightforward imprecatory prayer for the wicked's plans to fail (Matthew Henry). Others read it as a prayer that God would protect the vulnerable and, in doing so, give the wicked an opportunity to repent (Barnes). |
| Application under the New Covenant | Christians still cry out for justice and God's intervention against evil. | Some traditions emphasize praying for the conversion of enemies (Matthew 5:44) and see the imprecatory psalms as limited to the Old Covenant. Others maintain that such prayers remain valid as expressions of lament and trust in God's justice. |
| The role of human pride | Success without God leads to pride, which is dangerous for the wicked and harmful to others. | Whether the primary motivation here is compassion for the wicked (so they don't sin more) or concern for the psalmist's own safety. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 140 is attributed to David, likely composed during a period of violent persecution, possibly from Saul or during Absalom’s rebellion. The surrounding verses depict enemies who set snares, spread nets, and speak poison (Psalm 140:3-5). David’s life was often in danger from those who “have determined to trip my feet” (v.4). The Targum (ancient Aramaic paraphrase) identifies the wicked here as Doeg the Edomite, who reported David’s movements to Saul and later killed the priests of Nob (1 Samuel 22). Whether the reference is to a specific individual or to a type of enemy, the historical setting is one of real, physical threat.
The psalms of David regularly blend personal lament with trust in God’s sovereign control over human affairs. In the ancient Near East, kings often boasted of their own strength after military victories; David prays that God would not allow such pride to take root among the wicked after a successful plot. The word Selah at the end of the verse (as in vv. 3, 5) likely signals a musical interlude or a moment for the congregation to reflect on the weight of the petition. It punctuates the prayer, inviting the worshiper to pause and consider the justice of God. This verse thus stands firmly in the biblical tradition of crying out for deliverance while trusting that YHWH alone is the righteous judge.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for this verse. The Hebrew text is stable across the major manuscripts.
Reception History
Psalm 140 has been used in both Jewish and Christian worship as a prayer for deliverance. Early church fathers often allegorised the enemies as spiritual forces or sins. During the Reformation, commentators read David’s prayers as models of trusting God in persecution. John Calvin, for instance, emphasised that God “covers the head” of the believer in spiritual battle (on v.7). In modern times, the verse is frequently cited in discussions about the ethics of imprecatory prayer and the emotional honesty of the Psalms. It remains a source of comfort for those who feel powerless against oppression, reminding them that God can restrain the proud.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Danger of Unchecked Evil: The wicked desire harm, and if left unrestrained, their success breeds arrogance and further cruelty (v.8a; see also Psalm 10:2-3).
- The Prayer for Divine Restraint: David asks God to actively prevent the wicked’s plans from coming to completion, a plea for God’s sovereign hand to intervene (v.8b).
- The Motive to Prevent Pride: Success without repentance leads to self-exaltation; David prays not only for his own safety but to spare the wicked from deeper condemnation (v.8c; cf. Deuteronomy 32:27).
Five-point outline
- Context: David’s enemies plotted against his life.
- Petition: “Don’t grant the desires of the wicked.”
- Specific appeal: “Don’t let their evil plans succeed.”
- Reason: “Or they will become proud.”
- Reflection: Selah, pause to trust God’s justice.
Illustration hooks
- The bully who gets away with it ever after: how a child’s unchecked cruelty grows into adult arrogance, and the relief when someone in authority steps in.
- A workplace scheme where the cunning succeed: the tension we feel between wanting justice and wanting the person to change.
- A local leader or politician whose success feeds their ego and harms the vulnerable; the instinct to pray that their plans crumble.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Is it unloving to pray for God to stop a wicked person’s plans?
- Does God ever grant the desires of the wicked, and if so, why?
- How can I pray for both justice and the conversion of my enemies?
Leading a Discussion
This verse confronts us with a bold prayer: David asks God to block the plans of the wicked. It raises hard questions about how we pray for those who oppose us. Use these questions to guide your group from what the text says to how we live it out.
Discussion questions
- Read Psalm 140:8 in several translations. What specific actions does David ask God to take?
- What does the phrase “or they will become proud” tell us about David’s concern beyond his own safety?
- How does the surrounding context (vv. 1-7, 9-12) shape your understanding of why David prays this way?
- Barnes says praying against the success of the wicked is “proper” and even part of praying for their conversion. Do you agree? Why or why not?
- How do you reconcile this kind of prayer with Jesus’ command to “love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44)?
- Has there been a time when you prayed for God to stop someone’s plan? What did that feel like?
- What does this verse teach us about the character of God, His justice, His power, and His patience?
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Deuteronomy 32:27 | were it not that I feared the provocation of the enemy, lest their adversaries should judge wrongly, lest they should say, ‘Our hand is exalted; Yahweh has not done all this.’” |
| II Samuel 15:31 | Someone told David, saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” David said, “Yahweh, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.” |
| Job 5:12 | He frustrates the plans of the crafty, so that their hands can’t perform their enterprise. |
| Job 5:13 | He takes the wise in their own craftiness; the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong. |
| Psalms 10:2 | In arrogance, the wicked hunt down the weak. They are caught in the schemes that they devise. |
| Psalms 10:3 | For the wicked boasts of his heart’s cravings. He blesses the greedy and condemns Yahweh. |
| Psalms 27:12 | Don’t deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen up against me, such as breathe out cruelty. |
| Psalms 94:20 | Shall the throne of wickedness have fellowship with you, which brings about mischief by statute? |
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Further not his wicked device - He knew his enemies still desired his death, and were plotting to accomplish it; and here he prays that God may disappoint and confound them. The Chaldee understands this of Doeg.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes observes that praying against the wicked's success is itself an act of kindness, since granting their desires would harm both the world and themselves. Such success would only make them proud and forgetful of God, whereas a righteous cause humbles a person.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin highlights the particular Hebrew words David uses for his enemies: adam for the evil man and ish for the violent man, drawing a distinction between general wickedness and personal hostility. He also notes that the term for an asp's poison, achshub, appears only here in Scripture, signaling the unique venom of their slander.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator reads "further not his evil device" as a plea to God not to let a wicked plan succeed, rather than a request to stop the plan itself. They note the abrupt phrasing of "lest they exalt themselves" and suggest the word may actually belong to the following verse, indicating uncertainty about the original text's construction.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The commentator notes that the prayer against the wicked succeeding is motivated by a specific concern: if God granted their evil plans, it would only make them proud. The request is not merely for protection but to prevent their arrogance from being fed by success.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses that even the wicked cannot act without God's permission; their desires are under divine restraint. The psalmist prays that God would not grant them success or allow their schemes to come to completion, and that He would keep the bridle of providence in their jaws so they cannot exalt themselves.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
(Compare Psa 37:12 ; Psa 66:7 ). lest they exalt themselves —or, they will be exalted if permitted to prosper.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch observe that when enemies attack in full battle array, the psalmist prays and God shields his anointed's head from the deadly blow, like a helmet. The unusual Hebrew word forms in the verse reinforce this image of divine protection, and the passage's language echoes Proverbs and Isaiah.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange argues that the unusual, abrupt expressions in this psalm are characteristic of David himself, not signs of a later imitation. He carefully explains rare Hebrew words, showing that "stir up war" replaces the common reading "gather together for war," and that the enemies' "tongue like a serpent" points to slander as poison.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry highlights that David prays for God to block the wicked's plans, not just for personal safety, but because success would make them prouder and more insolent against God and His people. Prosperity emboldens their arrogance, so David asks the Lord to frustrate their desires and stop their projects.