Psalm 141:2
New International Version
May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

New Living Translation
Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering.

English Standard Version
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!

Berean Standard Bible
May my prayer be set before You like incense, my uplifted hands like the evening offering.

King James Bible
Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

New King James Version
Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

New American Standard Bible
May my prayer be counted as incense before You; The raising of my hands as the evening offering.

NASB 1995
May my prayer be counted as incense before You; The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.

NASB 1977
May my prayer be counted as incense before Thee; The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.

Legacy Standard Bible
May my prayer be established as incense before You; The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.

Amplified Bible
Let my prayer be counted as incense before You; The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.

Christian Standard Bible
May my prayer be set before you as incense, the raising of my hands as the evening offering.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
May my prayer be set before You as incense, the raising of my hands as the evening offering.

American Standard Version
Let my prayer be set forth as incense before thee; The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
My prayer came before you like incense, and an offering of my hands like the evening offering.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.

Contemporary English Version
Think of my prayer as sweet-smelling incense, and think of my lifted hands as an evening sacrifice.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight; the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice.

English Revised Version
Let my prayer be set forth as incense before thee; the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Let my prayer be accepted as sweet-smelling incense in your presence. Let the lifting up of my hands in prayer be accepted as an evening sacrifice.

Good News Translation
Receive my prayer as incense, my uplifted hands as an evening sacrifice.

International Standard Version
Let my prayer be like incense offered before you, and my uplifted hands like the evening sacrifice.

JPS Tanakh 1917
Let my prayer be set forth as incense before Thee, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Literal Standard Version
My prayer is prepared—incense before You, | The lifting up of my hands—the evening present.

Majority Standard Bible
May my prayer be set before You like incense, my uplifted hands like the evening offering.

New American Bible
Let my prayer be incense before you; my uplifted hands an evening offering.

NET Bible
May you accept my prayer like incense, my uplifted hands like the evening offering!

New Revised Standard Version
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.

New Heart English Bible
Let my prayer be set before you like incense; the lifting up of my hands like the evening sacrifice.

Webster's Bible Translation
Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

World English Bible
Let my prayer be set before you like incense; the lifting up of my hands like the evening sacrifice.

Young's Literal Translation
My prayer is prepared -- incense before Thee, The lifting up of my hands -- the evening present.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Come Quickly to Me
1A Psalm of David. I call upon You, O LORD; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to You. 2May my prayer be set before You like incense, my uplifted hands like the evening offering. 3Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.…

Cross References
Luke 1:10
And at the hour of the incense offering, the whole congregation was praying outside.

1 Timothy 2:8
Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or dissension.

Revelation 5:8
When He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Revelation 8:3
Then another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.

Revelation 8:4
And the smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, rose up before God from the hand of the angel.

Exodus 29:39
Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight.

Exodus 29:41
And offer the second lamb at twilight with the same grain offering and drink offering as in the morning, as a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.


Treasury of Scripture

Let my prayer be set forth before you as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

let my prayer.

Proverbs 15:8
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

set forth.

Psalm 5:3
My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

as incense

Exodus 30:7-9,34-38
And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it…

Leviticus 10:1,2
And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not…

Leviticus 16:11-13
And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself: …

the lifting

Psalm 28:2
Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.

Psalm 63:4
Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

Psalm 134:2
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.

the evening

Exodus 29:39,42
The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even: …

1 Kings 18:36
And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.

Ezra 9:4
Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice.

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Counted Evening Forth Hands Incense Lifting Oblation Offering Ordered Prayer Prepared Present Sacrifice Smell Sweet
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Psalm 141
1. David prays that his suit may be acceptable
3. His conscience sincere
7. And his life free from snares














(2) Set forth . . .--See margin; but more literally, be erected, suggesting the pillar of smoke (comp. Tennyson's "Azure pillars of the hearth") continually rising to heaven. Some think the incense refers to the morning sacrifice, so that the verse will mean, "let my prayer rise regularly as morning and evening sacrifice." But this is hardly necessary.

Sacrifice--i.e., the offering of flour and oil, which followed the burnt offering both at morning and evening (Leviticus 2:1-11; in Authorised Version," meat offering "), and here probably associated specially with evening, because the prayer was uttered at the close of the day. (See Note, Psalm 141:3.)

For the "lifted hands," here, from the parallelism, evidently only a symbol of prayer, and not a term for oblation, see Psalm 28:2, Note.

"For what are men better than sheep or goats,

That nourish a blind life within the Drain,

If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer, . . .

Verse 2. - Let my prayer be set forth (or, "established") before thee as incense; i.e. with the regularity of the incense, and with its acceptableness. And the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. The hands were "lifted up" in prayer, which was reckoned a serf of sacrifice (Hosea 14:2).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
May my prayer
תְּפִלָּתִ֣י (tə·p̄il·lā·ṯî)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 8605: Intercession, supplication, a hymn

be set
תִּכּ֤וֹן (tik·kō·wn)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 3559: To be erect

before You
לְפָנֶ֑יךָ (lə·p̄ā·ne·ḵā)
Preposition-l | Noun - common plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 6440: The face

like incense,
קְטֹ֣רֶת (qə·ṭō·reṯ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 7004: Smoke, odor of (burning) sacrifice, incense

my uplifted
מַֽשְׂאַ֥ת (maś·’aṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 4864: A raising, rising, an utterance, a beacon, a present

hands
כַּ֝פַּ֗י (kap·pay)
Noun - fdc | first person common singular
Strong's 3709: Hollow or flat of the hand, palm, sole (of the foot), a pan

like the evening
עָֽרֶב׃ (‘ā·reḇ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6153: Evening

offering.
מִנְחַת־ (min·ḥaṯ-)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 4503: A donation, tribute, a sacrificial offering


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OT Poetry: Psalm 141:2 Let my prayer be set before you (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 141:1
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