Ps 139 v9: Save us from evil desires and the plots of the wicked

Verse 9 of Psalm 139 speaks of our desire for salvation, in the face of those looking around for someone, anyone to destroy.

Looking at the Latin

The Vulgate and Douay-Rheims translations are arranged phrase by phrase below:

Ne tradas me, Dómine, a desidério meo peccatóri: cogitavérunt contra me,  ne derelínquas me, ne forte exalténtur.

Give me not up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked: they have plotted against me; do not forsake me, lest they should triumph.

The key vocabulary for the verse is as follows:

trado, didi, ditum, ere 3,  to give up, hand over, deliver up or over, abandon

desiderium, ii, n.  desire, longing, wish, yearning

peccator, oris, m.  a sinner, transgressor; the wicked, the godless.

cogito, avi, atum, are  to think, plan, devise, take counsel

derelinquo, liqui, lictum, ere 3, to abandon, forsake.

forte, adv. perhaps, perchance

exalto, avi, atum, are  to exalt, i.e., to elevate in rank, power, dignity, or the like; to dignify

Word by word:

Ne (not) tradas (you abandon/give up) me, Dómine (O Lord), a (from) desidério (the desire, wish) meo (my) peccatóri (to/for the wicked): cogitavérunt (they have plotted) contra (against) me, ne (not) derelínquas (you forsake/abandon) me, ne (not/lest) forte (perchance) exalténtur (they shall be exalted).

MT vs Septuagint?

The second phrase, a desiderio meo, reflects the Greek, and might best be translated as 'against my wishes'.  St Jerome's version, reflects the slightly different text tradition also reflected in the Masoretic Text, rendering it 'do not grant the desires of the wicked'.

Theodoret of Cyrus noted the two different text traditions for the verse and commented:

Symmachus, on the other hand put it this way, Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the lawless one, and likewise both Theodotian and Aquila.  Do not grant, he is saying, to the one hankering after my slaughter the realization of their desire.  According to the Septuagint the sense to be taken is, May he not enjoy what he longs for in my regard: I desire to be saved, whereas he desires to do away with me; so do not grant him the desire of my regard.

9	V	Ne tradas me, Dómine, a desidério meo peccatóri: cogitavérunt contra me, ne derelínquas me, ne forte exalténtur.
	OR	ne tradas me a desiderio meo peccatori cogitaverunt adversum me ne derelinquas me ne umquam exaltentur
	NV	Ne concedas, Domine, desideria impii; consilia eius ne perficias.
	Pian	Ne concesseris, Domine, desideria iniqui, Noli implere consilia eius.
	JH	Ne des, Domine, desideria impii; scelera eius ne effundantur et eleuentur.
	Sept	μὴ παραδῷς με κύριε ἀπὸ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας μου ἁμαρτωλῷ διελογίσαντο κα{T'} ἐμοῦ μὴ ἐγκαταλίπῃς με μήποτε ὑψωθῶσιν διάψαλμα

[Key: V=Vulgate; OR=Old Roman; NV=Neo-Vulgate; JH=St Jerome's translation from the Hebrew; Sept=Septuagint]

The Masoretic Text reading simplifies the translation, asking for deliverance from the desires of the wicked:

DR	Give me not up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked: they have plotted against me; do not thou forsake me, lest they should triumph.
Brenton	Deliver me not, O Lord, to the sinner, according to my desire: they have devised [mischief] against me; forsake me not, lest they should be exalted.
MD	Surrender me not, O Lord, to the desires of the wicked, they plot against me, do not abandon me.
RSV	Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; do not further his evil plot!
Cover	Let not the ungodly have his desire, O Lord; let not his mischievous imagination prosper, lest they be too proud.
Knox	Lord, do not let malice have its way with me, do not prosper its evil designs
Grail	Do not grant the wicked their desire nor let their plots succeed.

[Key: DR=Douay-Rheims Challoner; MD=Monastic Diurnal; RSV=Revised Standard Version; Cover=Coverdale]

Save us from the evil desires of our enemies?

St John Chrysostom interpreted this verse as a plea to God to thwart the evil desires of others:

What he means is this: Do not yield to his desire against me – that is, what he desires against me, do not permit him to achieve.  He did not say, What he desires, but at my desire, wanting to suggest something like this: Do not grant even the least of his desires.  

The point is that the good will always be confronted those by seeking to attack them: 

Such wicked people, you see, with great desire work their wiles against their neighbours, like the devil too, of whom Scripture says, He roams around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  This is the way he attacked Job; this is the way he wanted to attack Peter, and hence Jesus said, How many times has Satan looked for you to sift you like grain.  

The ultimate case of this is, of course, Our Lord, culminating in his arrest on Maundy Thursday, and trial and execution on Good Friday, as a result of the plots, machinations and false accusations of the Jewish authorities. 

Save us from ourselves

Many of the more recent Western commentaries, by contrast, interpret the verse as a plea as asking for God's assistance in not succumbing to the temptations represented by our own desires.

St Robert Bellarmine for example commented that:

We are given up from our desires to the wicked when concupiscence holds us captive, and gives us up to the power of Satan; for instance, when you look on another with an eye of concupiscence you become guilty at once, and subject to temptation; when death, in the time of persecution, is threatened, nothing can be offered to the evil one by the persecutor but the desire of life; when the tempter puts an opportunity for committing fraud in the way of man he can offer him nothing but the desire of lucre, and so of other sins. 

Both interpretations, of course, are valid, and helpful, since they teach us to be watchful for both our own weaknesses, temptations and sins, but also the attacks of those who are evil. 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, a psalm of David.
1 Eripe me, Dómine, ab hómine malo: * a viro iníquo éripe me.	Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: rescue me from the unjust man.
2 Qui cogitavérunt iniquitátes in corde: * tota die constituébant prælia.	3 Who have devised iniquities in their hearts: all the day long they designed battles.
3 Acuérunt linguas suas sicut serpéntis: * venénum áspidum sub lábiis eórum.	4 They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent: the venom of asps is under their lips.
4 Custódi me, Dómine, de manu peccatóris: * et ab homínibus iníquis éripe me.	5 Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the wicked: and from unjust men deliver me.
5 Qui cogitavérunt supplantáre gressus meos: * abscondérunt supérbi láqueum mihi:	Who have proposed to supplant my steps: 6 The proud have hidden a net for me.
6 Et funes extendérunt in láqueum: * juxta iter scándalum posuérunt mihi.	And they have stretched out cords for a snare: they have laid for me a stumbling block by the wayside.
7. Dixi Dómino : Deus meus es tu: * exáudi, Dómine, vocem deprecatiónis meæ.	7 I said to the Lord: You are my God: hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication.
8 Dómine, Dómine, virtus salútis meæ: * obumbrásti super caput meum in die belli.	8 O Lord, Lord, the strength of my salvation: you have overshadowed my head in the day of battle.
9 Ne tradas me, Dómine, a desidério meo peccatóri: * cogitavérunt contra me, ne derelínquas me, ne forte exalténtur.	9 Give me not up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked: they have plotted against me; do not forsake me, lest they should triumph.
10 Caput circúitus eórum: * labor labiórum ipsórum opériet eos.	10 The head of them compassing me about: the labour of their lips shall overwhelm them.
11 Cadent super eos carbónes, in ignem dejícies eos: * in misériis non subsístent.	11 Burning coals shall fall upon them; you will cast them down into the fire: in miseries they shall not be able to stand.
12 Vir linguósus non dirigétur in terra: * virum injústum mala cápient in intéritu.	12 A man full of tongue shall not be established in the earth: evil shall catch the unjust man unto destruction.
13 Cognóvi quia fáciet Dóminus judícium ínopis: * et vindíctam páuperum.	13 I know that the Lord will do justice to the needy, and will revenge the poor.
14 Verúmtamen justi confitebúntur nómini tuo: * et habitábunt recti cum vultu tuo.	14 But as for the just, they shall give glory to your name: and the upright shall dwell with your countenance.

And for the next part in this series, continue on here.