“O Lord, let me not be put to shame, for I call upon you; let the wicked be put to shame; let them go silently to Sheol.” -Psalm 31:17
Note the contrast present in David’s thinking. He should not be shamed but the wicked should be. To be “put to shame” is to be dishonored, to be humiliated or distressed as a result of wrong or foolish behavior. In further contrast, David uses his mouth to call on the Lord, to glorify him and speak truthfully. The wicked by implication use their lips to do the opposite. They blaspheme the name of the Lord and speak evil to ends. Thus, David prays they will go silently to Sheol. The LXX (Septuagint) translates the phrase, “sink into Sheol.” But the Hebrew here is pregnant with a spectrum of meaning and most English translations render it as the ESV does, “silently to Sheol.” This better fits the context as vs 18 indicates. David wants the mouths of the wicked to be shut and their lives cut off.
May God give us grace to use our mouths to continue to call upon his name; and, let us join David in praying for wicked to be silenced and removed, and for the ignominy of their wickedness to be revealed.