Psalms 109
1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O God of my praise, be not silent.
Unto the end. A Psalm of David.
2 For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me; they speak against me with lying tongues.
O God, do not be silent toward my praise, for the mouth of the sinner and the mouth of the deceitful one have been opened against me.
3 They surround me with hateful words and attack me without cause.
They have spoken against me with deceitful tongues, and they have surrounded me with hateful words, and they fought against me over nothing.
4 In return for my love they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.
Instead of choosing to act on my behalf, they detracted me. But I gave myself to prayer.
5 They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
And they set evil against me, instead of good, and hatred, in return for my love.
6 Set over him a wicked man; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
Establish the sinner over him, and let the devil stand at his right hand.
7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayer be regarded as sin.
When he is judged, may he go forth in condemnation, and may his prayer be counted as sin.
8 May his days be few; may another take his position.
May his days be few, and let another take his episcopate.
9 May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.
May his sons be orphans, and his wife a widow.
10 May his children wander as beggars, seeking sustenance far from their ruined homes.
May his sons be carried by those who walk unsteadily, and may they go begging. And may they be cast out of their dwelling places.
11 May the creditor seize all he owns, and strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
May the money lenders scrutinize all his belongings, and let foreigners plunder his labors.
12 May there be no one to extend kindness to him, and no one to favor his fatherless children.
May there be no one to assist him, nor anyone to be compassionate to his orphaned children.
13 May his descendants be cut off; may their name be blotted out from the next generation.
May his posterity be in utter ruin. In one generation, may his name be wiped away.
14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, and the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
May the iniquity of his fathers return in memory before the sight of the Lord, and do not let the sin of his mother be wiped away.
15 May their sins always remain before the LORD, that He may cut off their memory from the earth.
May these be opposite the Lord always, but let their memory perish from the earth.
16 For he never thought to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and brokenhearted, even to their death.
For certain things are not remembered about them, in order to be merciful.
17 The cursing that he loved, may it fall on him; the blessing in which he refused to delight, may it be far from him.
And so the destitute man was pursued, with the beggar and the remorseful in heart, so as to be put to death.
18 The cursing that he wore like a coat, may it soak into his body like water, and into his bones like oil.
And he loved a curse, and it came to him. And he was unwilling to have a blessing, and it went far from him. And he clothed himself with curses like a garment, and it entered his inner self like water, and it entered his bones like oil.
19 May it be like a robe wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around him.
May it be to him like a garment that covers him, and like a belt that always cinches him.
20 May this be the LORD’s reward to my accusers, to those who speak evil against me.
This is the work of those who detract me with the Lord and who speak evils against my soul.
21 But You, O GOD, the Lord, deal kindly with me for the sake of Your name; deliver me by the goodness of Your loving devotion.
But as for you, Lord, O Lord: act on my behalf for your name’s sake. For your mercy is sweet.
22 For I am poor and needy; my heart is wounded within me.
Free me, for I am destitute and poor, and my heart has been disquieted within me.
23 I am fading away like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust.
I have been taken away like a shadow when it declines, and I have been shaken off like locusts.
24 My knees are weak from fasting, and my body grows lean and gaunt.
My knees have been weakened by fasting, and my flesh has been replaced by oil.
25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads.
And I have become a disgrace to them. They saw me, and they shook their heads.
26 Help me, O LORD my God; save me according to Your loving devotion.
Help me, O Lord, my God. Save me according to your mercy.
27 Let them know that this is Your hand, that You, O LORD, have done it.
And let them know that this is your hand, and that you, O Lord, have done this.
28 Though they curse, You will bless. When they rise up, they will be put to shame, but Your servant will rejoice.
They will curse, and you will bless. May those who rise up against me be confounded. But your servant will rejoice.
29 May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may they wear their shame like a robe.
May those who detract me be clothed with shame, and may they be covered with their confusion, as if with a double cloak.
30 With my mouth I will thank the LORD profusely; I will praise Him in the presence of many.
I will confess exceedingly to the Lord with my mouth. And I will praise him in the midst of the multitude.
31 For He stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from the condemners of his soul.
For he stands at the right hand of the poor, in order to save my soul from persecutors.
