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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.
[a]If a righteous man strikes me, I regard it as kindness;
    if he rebukes me, it is oil on my head.[b]
But never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head,
    for my prayer is always opposed to their evil deeds.
[c]When their leaders are flung down in stony places,
    they will learn that my prayers were heard.

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Footnotes

  1. 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.
  2. Psalm 141:5 Oil was poured on the head in a gesture of welcome and hospitality (see Lk 7:46).
  3. Psalm 141:6 The text of these verses is obscure and their meaning uncertain. As it stands here, the meaning of verse 7 may be: “As a farmer breaks up the soil and brings up the rocks, so the bones of the wicked will be scattered without a decent burial” (see Ps 79:2-3).

Do not let my heart(A) be drawn to what is evil
    so that I take part in wicked deeds(B)
along with those who are evildoers;
    do not let me eat their delicacies.(C)

Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness;
    let him rebuke me(D)—that is oil on my head.(E)
My head will not refuse it,
    for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers.

Their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs,(F)
    and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken.

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