Psalms 109
1 For the music director. A psalm of David. God, the one I praise, please don't remain silent,
“For the leader of the music. A psalm of David.” O God of my praise! be not silent!
2 because wicked and deceitful people are attacking me, telling lies about me.
For the mouths of the wicked and the deceitful are opened against me; They speak against me with a lying tongue.
3 They surround me with words of hate, fighting against me for no reason.
They assault me on every side with words of hatred; They fight against me without a cause.
4 I love them, but they respond with hostility towards me, even while I'm praying for them!
For my love they are my adversaries: But I give myself unto prayer.
5 They pay me back with evil instead of good, with hatred instead of love.
They repay me evil for good, And hatred for love.
6 “Appoint someone wicked over him. Have someone stand as an accuser against him.
Set thou a wicked man over him, And let an adversary stand at his right hand!
7 When he is judged and sentenced, may he be found guilty. Let his prayers be counted as sins.
When he is judged, may he be condemned, And may his prayer be a crime!
8 May his life be short; let someone else take over his position.
May his days be few, And another take his office!
9 May his children be left fatherless, and his wife become a widow.
May his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow!
10 May his children be homeless, wandering beggars, driven from their ruined houses.
May his children be vagabonds and beggars, And from their ruined dwellings seek their bread!
11 May creditors seize all that he owns; may strangers take all that he worked for.
May a creditor seize on all that he hath, And a stranger plunder his substance!
12 May no one be kind to him; may no one take pity on his fatherless children.
May there be none to show him compassion, And none to pity his fatherless children!
13 May his descendants die; may his family name be wiped out in the next generation.
May his posterity be cut off; In the next generation may his name be blotted out!
14 May the Lord be reminded of the sins of his fathers; may his mother's sins not be blotted out.
May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by the LORD, And may the sin of his mother never be blotted out!
15 May their sins be constantly before the Lord; may his name be totally forgotten by people.
May they be before the LORD continually; And may he cut off their memory from the earth!
16 For he didn't think to be kind to others, instead he harassed and killed the poor, the needy, the brokenhearted.
Because he remembered not to show pity, But persecuted the afflicted and the poor man, And sought the death of the broken-hearted.
17 He loved to put a curse on others—let it come back on him. He had no time for blessings—so may he never receive any.
As he loved cursing, let it come upon him; As he delighted not in blessing, let it be far from him!
18 He cursed as often as he got dressed. May his curses go into him like the water he drinks, like the olive oil he rubs on his skin that enters his bones.
May he be clothed with cursing as with a garment; May it enter like water into his bowels, And like oil into his bones!
19 May his curses stick to him like clothing, may they be pulled tight around him like a belt.”
May it be to him like the robe that covereth him, Like the girdle with which he is constantly girded!
20 May all this be the punishment of the Lord on my enemies, on those who speak evil of me.
May this be the wages of mine adversaries from the LORD, And of them that speak evil against me!
21 But treat me well, Lord God, because of your own reputation. Save me because you are faithful and good.
But do thou, O LORD, my God! take part with me, For thine own name's sake! Because great is thy mercy, O deliver me!
22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is breaking.
For I am afflicted and needy, And my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am fading away like an evening shadow; I am like a locust that is shaken off.
I am going like a shadow; I am driven away as the locust.
24 I am so weak from lack of food that my legs give way; my body is just skin and bones.
My knees totter from fasting, And my flesh faileth of fatness.
25 People ridicule me—they look at me and shake their heads!
I am a reproach to my enemies; They gaze at me; they shake their heads.
26 Help me, Lord my God; save me because of your trustworthy love.
Help me, O LORD, my God! O save me, according to thy mercy!
27 May they recognize that this is what you are doing—that you are the one who saves me.
That they may know that this is thy hand; That thou, O Lord! hast done it!
28 When they curse me, you will bless me. When they attack me, you will defeat them. And I, your servant, will be happy.
Let them curse, but do thou bless! When they arise, let them be put to shame; But let thy servant rejoice!
29 May those who accuse me be clothed with disgrace; may they cover themselves with a cloak of shame.
May my enemies be clothed with ignominy; May they be covered with their shame, as with a mantle!
30 But I will keep on thanking the Lord, praising him to everyone around me.
I will earnestly praise the LORD with my lips; In the midst of the multitude I will praise him.
31 For he takes a stand to defend the needy, to save them from those who condemn them.
For he standeth at the right hand of the poor, To save him from those who would condemn him.
