Psalms 109
1 For the chief musician. A psalm of David. God whom I praise, do not be silent,
TO THE OVERSEER. A PSALM OF DAVID. O God of my praise, do not be silent,
2 For the wicked and deceitful attack me; they speak lies against me.
For the mouth of wickedness, and the mouth of deceit, They have opened against me, They have spoken with me—A tongue of falsehood, and words of hatred!
3 They surround me and say hateful things, and they attack me without cause.
They have surrounded me about, And they fight me without cause.
4 In return for my love they accuse me, but I pray for them.
For my love they oppose me, and I—prayer!
5 They repay me evil for good, and they hate my love.
And they set against me evil for good, And hatred for my love.
6 Appoint a wicked man over such an enemy as these people; appoint an accuser to stand at his right hand.
Appoint the wicked over him, And an adversary stands at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, may he be found guilty; may his prayer be considered sinful.
In his being judged, he goes forth wicked, And his prayer is for sin.
8 May his days be few; may another take his office.
His days are few, another takes his oversight,
9 May his children be fatherless, and may his wife be a widow.
His sons are fatherless, and his wife a widow.
10 May his children wander about and beg, asking for handouts as they leave their ruined home.
And his sons wander continually, Indeed, they have begged, And have sought out of their dry places.
11 May the creditor take all he owns; may strangers plunder what he earns.
An exactor lays a snare for all that he has, And strangers spoil his labor.
12 May no one extend any kindness to him; may no one have pity on his fatherless children.
He has none to extend kindness, Nor is there one showing favor to his orphans.
13 May his children be cut off; may their name be blotted out in the next generation.
His posterity is for cutting off, Their name is blotted out in another generation.
14 May his ancestors' sins be mentioned to Yahweh; and may the sin of his mother not be forgotten.
The iniquity of his fathers Is remembered to YHWH, And the sin of his mother is not blotted out.
15 May their guilt always be before Yahweh; may Yahweh cut off their memory from the earth.
They are continually before YHWH, And He cuts off their memorial from earth.
16 May Yahweh do this because this man never bothered to show any covenant faithfulness, but instead harassed the oppressed, the needy, and the disheartened to death.
Because that he has not remembered to do kindness, And pursues the poor man and needy, And the struck of heart—to slay,
17 He loved cursing; may it come back upon him. He hated blessing; may no blessing come to him.
And he loves reviling, and it meets him, And he has not delighted in blessing, And it is far from him.
18 He clothed himself with cursing as his garment, and his curse came into his inner being like water, like oil into his bones.
And he puts on reviling as his robe, And it comes in as water into his midst, And as oil into his bones.
19 May his curses be to him like the clothes he wears to cover himself, like the belt he always wears.
It is to him as apparel—he covers himself, And he girds it on for a continual girdle.
20 May this be the reward of my accusers from Yahweh, of those who say evil things about me.
This [is] the wage of my accusers from YHWH, And of those speaking evil against my soul.
21 Yahweh my Lord, deal kindly with me for your name's sake. Because your covenant faithfulness is good, save me.
And You, O Lord YHWH, Deal with me for Your Name’s sake, Because Your kindness [is] good, deliver me.
22 For I am oppressed and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
For I [am] poor and needy, And my heart has been pierced in my midst.
23 I am fading away like the shadow of the evening; I am shaken off like a locust.
I have gone as a shadow when it is stretched out, I have been driven away as a locust.
24 My knees are weak from fasting; I am turning to skin and bones.
My knees have been feeble from fasting, And my flesh has failed of fatness.
25 I am disdained by my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads.
And I have been a reproach to them, They see me, they shake their head.
26 Help me, Yahweh my God; save me by your covenant faithfulness.
Help me, O YHWH my God, Save me, according to Your kindness.
27 May they know that this is your doing, that you, Yahweh, have done this.
And they know that this [is] Your hand, You, O YHWH, You have done it.
28 Though they curse me, please bless me; when they attack, may they be put to shame, but may your servant rejoice.
They revile, and You bless, They have risen, and are ashamed, And Your servant rejoices.
29 May my adversaries be clothed with shame; may they wear their shame like a robe.
My accusers put on blushing, and are covered, Their shame [is] as an upper robe.
30 With my mouth I give great thanks to Yahweh; I will praise him in the midst of a crowd.
I thank YHWH greatly with my mouth, And I praise Him in the midst of many,
31 For he will stand at the right hand of the one who is needy, to save him from those who judge him.
For He stands at the right hand of the needy, To save from those judging his soul.
