Psalms 109
1 Unto the end. A Psalm of David.
God, you are the one whom I praise, [So please] answer [my prayer],
2 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.
because wicked people slander me and tell [MTY] lies about me.
3 They have spoken against me with deceitful tongues, and they have surrounded me with hateful words, and they fought against me over nothing.
They are constantly saying that they hate me, and they say evil things about me for no reason.
4 Instead of choosing to act on my behalf, they detracted me. But I gave myself to prayer.
I show them that I want to be their friends and I pray for them, but [instead of being kind to me], they say that I have done evil things.
5 And they set evil against me, instead of good, and hatred, in return for my love.
In return for my doing good things for them and loving them, they do evil things to me and hate me.
6 Establish the sinner over him, and let the devil stand at his right hand.
They said, “Appoint a wicked [judge] who will judge him, and bring in one of his enemies who will stand up and accuse him.
7 When he is judged, may he go forth in condemnation, and may his prayer be counted as sin.
And cause that when the trial [ends], [the judge will] declare that he is guilty, and that [even] his prayer will be considered to be a sin.
8 May his days be few, and let another take his episcopate.
[Then], cause that he will soon die and that someone else will have his job/work (OR, possessions).
9 May his sons be orphans, and his wife a widow.
Cause that his children will not have a father any more and that his wife will become a widow.
10 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.
Cause that his children will be forced to leave the ruined homes that they have been living in and wander around begging for food.
11 May the money lenders scrutinize all his belongings, and let foreigners plunder his labors.
Cause that all the people to whom he owed money will seize all his property; Cause that strangers will take away everything that he worked to acquire.
12 May there be no one to assist him, nor anyone to be compassionate to his orphaned children.
Cause that [while he is still living] no one will be kind to him, and [after he dies], cause that no one will pity his children.
13 May his posterity be in utter ruin. In one generation, may his name be wiped away.
Cause that all his descendants will die and that his grandchildren will not remember who he [MTY] was.
14 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.
Yahweh, remember [and do not forgive] his ancestors for the evil things that they did, and do not [even] forgive the sins that his mother committed;
15 May these be opposite the Lord always, but let their memory perish from the earth.
think about his sins continually, and cause that his name will be completely forgotten.
16 For certain things are not remembered about them, in order to be merciful.
He never was kind to anyone; he (persecuted/cause problems for) poor and needy [people] and even killed helpless [people].
17 And so the destitute man was pursued, with the beggar and the remorseful in heart, so as to be put to death.
He liked to curse [people]. [So] cause those terrible things that he requested to happen to others to happen to him! He did not want to bless [others], [so] cause that no one will bless him!
18 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.
He cursed other people [as often/easily] as he put on his clothes [SIM]; cause that the terrible things that he wanted to happen to others will [happen to him and] enter his body like water [that he drinks] [SIM], like [olive] oil soaks into a person’s bones [when it is rubbed on his skin] [SIM].
19 May it be to him like a garment that covers him, and like a belt that always cinches him.
Cause that those terrible things will cling to him like his clothes and be around him like the belt that he wears every day.”
20 This is the work of those who detract me with the Lord and who speak evils against my soul.
Yahweh, I want you to punish all my enemies that way, those who say evil things about me.
21 But as for you, Lord, O Lord: act on my behalf for your name’s sake. For your mercy is sweet.
But Yahweh, my God, do good things for me in order that I may honor you; rescue me [from my enemies] because your faithfully loving me is good.
22 Free me, for I am destitute and poor, and my heart has been disquieted within me.
[I ask you to do this] because I am poor and needy and my inner being is (full of pain/very troubled/discouraged).
23 I have been taken away like a shadow when it declines, and I have been shaken off like locusts.
[I think that] my time [to remain alive] is short, like an evening shadow [that will soon disappear] [SIM]. I will be blown away like a locust/grasshopper is blown [by the wind].
24 My knees have been weakened by fasting, and my flesh has been replaced by oil.
My knees are weak because I have (fasted/abstained from eating food) very often, and my body has become very thin.
25 And I have become a disgrace to them. They saw me, and they shook their heads.
The people who accuse me make fun of me; when they see me, they [insult me by] shaking their heads [at me as though I were an evil man].
26 Help me, O Lord, my God. Save me according to your mercy.
Yahweh, my God, help me! Because you faithfully love [me], rescue me!
27 And let them know that this is your hand, and that you, O Lord, have done this.
[When you save me], cause my enemies to know that you are the one who has done it!
28 They will curse, and you will bless. May those who rise up against me be confounded. But your servant will rejoice.
They may curse me, but I ask that you bless me. Cause those who (persecute/cause problems for) me [to be defeated and as a result] to be disgraced/ashamed, and cause me to be glad/happy!
29 May those who detract me be clothed with shame, and may they be covered with their confusion, as if with a double cloak.
Cause those who accuse me to be completely disgraced; cause [other people to see] that they are disgraced, as [easily as they see] the clothes that they wear [SIM]!
30 I will confess exceedingly to the Lord with my mouth. And I will praise him in the midst of the multitude.
But I will thank Yahweh very greatly; I will praise him [when I am] among the crowd [of people who are worshiping him].
31 For he stands at the right hand of the poor, in order to save my soul from persecutors.
[I will do that] because he defends [MTY] needy [people like me], and saves us from those who have decided/declared that we must be executed.
