Psalm 140:11

Psalm 140:11, in plain English

David prays that slanderers won't be able to take hold in society, and that violence will pursue violent people—that wickedness won't be allowed to establish itself.

Why it's here

David isn't speaking just for himself anymore; he's thinking about the health of the whole community. He wants a society where lies don't flourish, where liars don't gain power, and where violence meets consequences. This is about the moral order of the land itself.

Who's speaking

David, broadening his concern beyond his personal enemies to the good of the whole community.

Where it sits in the story

This reflects a biblical vision of justice and social order where wickedness doesn't prosper. Proverbs echoes this hope that righteousness makes a nation stable and unrighteousness destabilizes it.

The scholarly reading

The psalmist broadens his prayer from personal enemies to systemic wickedness, petitioning that slanderers be prevented from establishing themselves within the land, and that violence itself be hunted down.

Language and setting

The shift from singular to plural ('slanderer,' 'man of violence') reflects a movement beyond personal vendetta toward intercessory prayer for communal justice. The phrase 'not be established in the land' (bal yikon be-eretz) invokes covenantal themes—the wicked forfeit their place within God's land, a concern central to Deuteronomy's theology. The hunt-imagery (yardof aval) uses the same verb employed for pursuit of game, suggesting that wickedness becomes the hunted rather than hunter.

Voice

The psalmist, now functioning as intercessor for the entire community's righteousness.

Significance

This expansion of concern from personal safety to communal integrity connects to the prophetic tradition wherein righteous individuals pray on behalf of entire nations (Abraham's intercession for Sodom, Jeremiah's confessions, Christ's high priestly prayer)—establishing that covenant membership includes concern for collective holiness.

9May the heads of those who surround me be covered in the trouble their lips have caused.

10May burning coals fall on them; may they be thrown into the fire, into the miry pits, never to rise again.

11May no slanderer be established in the land; may calamity hunt down the man of violence.

12I know that the LORD upholds justice for the poor and defends the cause of the needy.

13Surely the righteous will praise Your name; the upright will dwell in Your presence.

Read all of Psalm 140 — Violent men plot evil. They sharpen their tongues like a serpent's. David prays for deliverance — and trusts that God maintains the cause of the afflicted.