Psalms 109
1 “For the leader of the music. A psalm of David.” O God of my praise! be not silent!
God, you are the one whom I praise, [So please] answer [my prayer],
2 For the mouths of the wicked and the deceitful are opened against me; They speak against me with a lying tongue.
because wicked people slander me and tell [MTY] lies about me.
3 They assault me on every side with words of hatred; They fight against me without a cause.
They are constantly saying that they hate me, and they say evil things about me for no reason.
4 For my love they are my adversaries: But I give myself unto 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 They repay me evil for good, And hatred for love.
In return for my doing good things for them and loving them, they do evil things to me and hate me.
6 Set thou a wicked man over him, And let an adversary 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 be condemned, And may his prayer be a crime!
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 another take his office!
[Then], cause that he will soon die and that someone else will have his job/work (OR, possessions).
9 May his children be fatherless, 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 children be vagabonds and beggars, And from their ruined dwellings seek their bread!
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 a creditor seize on all that he hath, And a stranger plunder his substance!
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 none to show him compassion, And none to pity his fatherless 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 cut off; In the next generation may his name be blotted out!
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 be remembered by the LORD, And may the sin of his mother never be blotted out!
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 they be before the LORD continually; And may he cut off their memory from the earth!
think about his sins continually, and cause that his name will be completely forgotten.
16 Because he remembered not to show pity, But persecuted the afflicted and the poor man, And sought the death of the broken-hearted.
He never was kind to anyone; he (persecuted/cause problems for) poor and needy [people] and even killed helpless [people].
17 As he loved cursing, let it come upon him; As he delighted not in blessing, let it be far from him!
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 May he be clothed with cursing as with a garment; May it enter like water into his bowels, And like oil into his bones!
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 the robe that covereth him, Like the girdle with which he is constantly girded!
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 May this be the wages of mine adversaries from the LORD, And of them that speak evil against me!
Yahweh, I want you to punish all my enemies that way, those who say evil things about me.
21 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!
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 For I am afflicted and needy, And my heart is wounded 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 am going like a shadow; I am driven away as the locust.
[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 totter from fasting, And my flesh faileth of fatness.
My knees are weak because I have (fasted/abstained from eating food) very often, and my body has become very thin.
25 I am a reproach to my enemies; They gaze at me; they shake 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! O save me, according to thy mercy!
Yahweh, my God, help me! Because you faithfully love [me], rescue me!
27 That they may know that this is thy hand; That thou, O Lord! hast done it!
[When you save me], cause my enemies to know that you are the one who has done it!
28 Let them curse, but do thou bless! When they arise, let them be put to shame; But let thy servant 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 my enemies be clothed with ignominy; May they be covered with their shame, as with a mantle!
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 earnestly praise the LORD with my lips; In the midst of the multitude I will praise him.
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 standeth at the right hand of the poor, To save him from those who would condemn him.
[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.
