Psalm 141:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Let a righteous man strike me — it is a kindness; let him rebuke me — it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it. Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.

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

NASB: May the righteous strike me with mercy and discipline me; It is oil for the head; My head shall not refuse it, For my prayer is still against their evil deeds.

CSB: Let the righteous one strike me— it is an act of faithful love; let him rebuke me— it is oil for my head; let me not refuse it. Even now my prayer is against the evil acts of the wicked.

NLT: Let the godly strike me! It will be a kindness! If they correct me, it is soothing medicine. Don’t let me refuse it. But I pray constantly against the wicked and their deeds.

KJV: Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.

NKJV: Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked.

Psalm 141:5–7 reinforces the wisdom of taking advice from godly people (Proverbs 13:18). Correction is never pleasant (Hebrews 12:11) and our natural reaction is to resist. But a wise person listens to such guidance (Proverbs 12:1; 19:25; 27:6). The rest of this segment is extremely obscure; commentators struggle to determine precisely what David means when speaking of judges, cliffs, plows, and bones. The general idea seems to be David's assumption that he will be vindicated in the end.

This song calls out to the Lord with two main requests. First, David prays for God's help in avoiding sin and temptation. David is open to godly correction when it comes from a righteous person. But he desperately wants to avoid drifting into sin. David's second request is for protection against the enemies who seek to trap him. He prays that those who plot evil against him will experience those harms, in their own lives.

This is one of several psalms where David asks the Lord for protection against enemies (Psalm 3; 25; 57). No exact moment is tied to this song. David's strong emphasis here on being kept from sinning notable in the psalms. His attitude echoes the Bible's stance on godly advice (Proverbs 9:8; 19:25; 27:6) and the importance of taking correction from both God and earthly authorities (Psalm 94:12; Proverbs 14:11; Hebrews 12:7).

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.