PSALM 109

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David

1 O God of my praise! be not silent;

2 For the mouth of the ungodly man, and the mouth of deceit upon me are opened; They have talked with me with a tongue of guile:

3 And with words of hatred they have encompassed me, And have fought against me without a cause.

4 [In return] for my love they have been my adversaries; But I set myself to prayer.

5 And they have requited me evil for good, And hatred for my love.

6 Set thou over him an ungodly man; And let the adversary stand at his right hand.

7 When he is judged let him go forth condemned, ³⁷⁴³⁷⁴     Literally, “wicked” or “ungodly.” And let his prayer be turned into sin.

8 Let his days be few; His office let another receive.

9 Let his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow.

10 And in wandering let his children wander and beg, ³⁷⁵³⁷⁵     In the French version it is — “And let his children be vagabonds and beg.” And seek [for bread] out of their waste places. ³⁷⁶³⁷⁶     In the French version it is — “And seek [for bread] going out of their waste or ruined dwellings.”

11 Catch let the extortioner all which he hath, And let strangers plunder his labor.

12 Let there be none prolonging mercy to him; And let there be none to have compassion upon his orphans.

13 Let his posterity be destroyed; ³⁷⁷³⁷⁷     Literally, “be to destruction.” In the generation following let their name be blotted out.

14 Remembered let be the iniquity of his fathers before Jehovah; And the wickedness ³⁷⁸³⁷⁸     In the French version it is “sin.” of his mother let it not be blotted out.

15 Let them be before Jehovah continually, And let him blot out from the earth their memorial;

16 Because he remembered not to do mercy, And persecuted the man [that was] wretched and poor, And afflicted in heart, to put him to death.

17 He loved cursing, and let it come upon him: He delighted not in blessing, and let it be far from him.

18 And let him be clothed with cursing as with a garment; And let it come as water into his entrails, And as oil into his bones.

19 Let it be to him as a mantle to cover him, And as a girdle with which continually he may gird himself

20 Let this be the recompense ³⁷⁹³⁷⁹     Literally, “work.” of my adversaries from Jehovah, And of those who speak evil against my soul.

21 But thou, O Jehovah, my Lord! deal thou with me for the sake of thy name: Because good is thy mercy, deliver me;

22 For poor and needy I am, And my heart is wounded within me.

23 As a shadow when it declineth, I walk about; I am shaken off as the locust.

24 My knees are become feeble through fasting; And my flesh hath fallen away from its fatness.

25 But I am become a reproach to them; When they see me they shake their head.

26 Help me, O Jehovah, my God! Save me according to thy mercy.

27 And they shall know that this is thy hand, That thou, O Jehovah! hast done it.

28 They shall curse, but thou shalt bless; When they rise up they shall be put to shame; But thy servant shall rejoice.

29 Clothed shall be my adversaries with disgrace, And they shall be covered as with a garment with their own shame.

30 I will praise Jehovah greatly with my mouth; And in the midst of the great I will celebrate him:

31 Because he standeth at the right hand of the poor one, To save from condemnations his soul.