Chapter 109

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.

¹God of my praise, don’t remain silent,

²For they have opened the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit against me.

They have spoken to me with a lying tongue.

³They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,

And fought against me without a cause.

⁴In return for my love, they are my adversaries;

But I am in prayer.

⁵They have rewarded me evil for good,

And hatred for my love.

⁶Set a wicked man over him.

Let an adversary stand at his right hand.

⁷When he is judged, let him come forth guilty.

Let his prayer be turned into sin.

⁸Let his days be few.

Let another take his office.

⁹Let his children be fatherless,

And his wife a widow.

¹⁰Let his children be wandering beggars.

Let them be sought from their ruins.

¹¹Let the creditor seize all that he has.

Let strangers plunder the fruit of his labor.

¹²Let there be none to extend kindness to him,

Neither let there be any to have pity on his fatherless children.

¹³Let his posterity be cut off.

In the generation following let their name be blotted out.

¹⁴Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by Yahweh.

Don’t let the sin of his mother be blotted out.

¹⁵Let them be before Yahweh continually,

That he may cut off the memory of them from the earth;

¹⁶Because he didn’t remember to show kindness,

But persecuted the poor and needy man,

The broken in heart, to kill them.

¹⁷Yes, he loved cursing, and it came to him.

He didn’t delight in blessing, and it was far from him.

¹⁸He clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment.

It came into his inward parts like water,

Like oil into his bones.

¹⁹Let it be to him as the clothing with which he covers himself,

For the belt that is always around him.

²⁰This is the reward of my adversaries from Yahweh,

Of those who speak evil against my soul.

²¹But deal with me, Yahweh the Lord, for your name’s sake,

Because your loving kindness is good, deliver me;

²²For I am poor and needy.

My heart is wounded within me.

²³I fade away like an evening shadow.

I am shaken off like a locust.

²⁴My knees are weak through fasting.

My body is thin and lacks fat.

²⁵I have also become a reproach to them.

When they see me, they shake their head.

²⁶Help me, Yahweh, my God.

Save me according to your loving kindness;

²⁷That they may know that this is your hand;

That you, Yahweh, have done it.

²⁸They may curse, but you bless.

When they arise, they will be shamed,

But your servant shall rejoice.

²⁹Let my adversaries be clothed with dishonor.

Let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.

³⁰I will give great thanks to Yahweh with my mouth.

Yes, I will praise him among the multitude.

³¹For he will stand at the right hand of the needy,

To save him from those who judge his soul.