Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 140:8

"Grant not, O Jehovah, the desires of the wicked; Further not his evil device, [lest] they exalt themselves. Selah" — Psalms 140:8 (ASV)

Desires.— The form of the Hebrew word is anomalous, but the meaning certain. The Septuagint and Vulgate give the first clause as follows: “Give me not over to the enemy, by reason of their own desire;” which may possibly have been in St. Paul’s mind in Romans 1:24.

Further not.— The text of this clause has undoubtedly suffered. The Authorised Version follows the Septuagint and Vulgate in inserting a negative before the last word. These versions also take the word rendered “wicked devices” as a verb, not finding a noun of the form anywhere else: “They have plotted against me: desert me not, lest they exalt themselves.” So also Symmachus, and another Greek version quoted by Origen.

As the text at present stands, we must translate: his plot do not further — they lift up. Looking on to the next verse, “the head of those surrounding me”, the suggestion at once arises that the verb lift up properly belongs to this clause:

“His plot do not further.
They lift the head, these surrounding me.”

This arrangement disregards the “selah.” and also obliges us to suspect that a clause has dropped out after the first clause of Psalms 140:9—a suspicion confirmed by the rhythm.[20]

[20] Mr. Burgess amends to “Further not his plot to his exaltation.”