< Psalms 109 >
1 Hold not your peace, O God of my praise;
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O God of my praise, be not silent.
2 For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me; they speak against me with lying tongues.
3 They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.
They surround me with hateful words and attack me without cause.
4 For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.
In return for my love they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.
5 And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6 Set you a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.
Set over him a wicked man; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin.
When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayer be regarded as sin.
8 Let his days be few; and let another take his office.
May his days be few; may another take his position.
9 Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.
10 Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.
May his children wander as beggars, seeking sustenance far from their ruined homes.
11 Let the extortionist catch all that he has; and let the strangers spoil his labour.
May the creditor seize all he owns, and strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
12 Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children.
May there be no one to extend kindness to him, and no one to favor his fatherless children.
13 Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.
May his descendants be cut off; may their name be blotted out from the next generation.
14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, and the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
15 Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.
May their sins always remain before the LORD, that He may cut off their memory from the earth.
16 Because that he remembered not to show mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.
For he never thought to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and brokenhearted, even to their death.
17 As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.
The cursing that he loved, may it fall on him; the blessing in which he refused to delight, may it be far from him.
18 As he clothed himself with cursing like with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones.
The cursing that he wore like a coat, may it soak into his body like water, and into his bones like oil.
19 Let it be unto him as the garment which covers him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually.
May it be like a robe wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around him.
20 Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul.
May this be the LORD’s reward to my accusers, to those who speak evil against me.
21 But do you for me, O GOD the Lord, for your name's sake: because your mercy is good, deliver you me.
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.
22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
For I am poor and needy; my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am gone like the shadow when it declines: I am tossed up and down as the locust.
I am fading away like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh fails of fatness.
My knees are weak from fasting, and my body grows lean and gaunt.
25 I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shook their heads.
I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads.
26 Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to your mercy:
Help me, O LORD my God; save me according to Your loving devotion.
27 That they may know that this is your hand; that you, LORD, have done it.
Let them know that this is Your hand, that You, O LORD, have done it.
28 Let them curse, but bless you: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let your servant rejoice.
Though they curse, You will bless. When they rise up, they will be put to shame, but Your servant will rejoice.
29 Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle.
May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may they wear their shame like a robe.
30 I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.
With my mouth I will thank the LORD profusely; I will praise Him in the presence of many.
31 For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.
For He stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from the condemners of his soul.