Psalms109

¹To the choirmaster . A Psalm of David . Be not silent , O God of my praise !

²For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues .

³They encircle me with words of hate , and attack me without cause .

⁴In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer .

⁵So they reward me evil for good , and hatred for my love .

⁶Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand at his right hand .

⁷When he is tried , let him come forth guilty ; let his prayer be counted as sin !

⁸May his days be few ; may another take his office !

⁹May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow !

¹⁰May his children wander about and beg , seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit !

¹¹May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil !

¹²Let there be none to extend kindness to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children !

¹³May his posterity be cut off ; may his name be blotted out in the second generation !

¹⁴May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out !

¹⁵Let them be before the Lord continually , that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth !

¹⁶For he did not remember to show kindness , but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted , to put them to death .

¹⁷He loved to curse ; let curses come upon him! He did not delight in blessing ; may it be far from him!

¹⁸He clothed himself with cursing as his coat ; may it soak into his body like water , like oil into his bones !

¹⁹May it be like a garment that he wraps around him , like a belt that he puts on every day !

²⁰May this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord, of those who speak evil against my life !

²¹But you, O God my Lord , deal on my behalf for your name’s sake ; because your steadfast love is good , deliver me!

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

²³I am gone like a shadow at evening ; I am shaken off like a locust .

²⁴My knees are weak through fasting ; my body has become gaunt , with no fat .

²⁵I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they wag their heads .

²⁶Help me, O Lord my God ! Save me according to your steadfast love !

²⁷Let them know that this is your hand ; you, O Lord, have done it!

²⁸Let them curse , but you will bless ! They arise and are put to shame , but your servant will be glad !

²⁹May my accusers be clothed with dishonor ; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak !

³⁰With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the throng .

³¹For he stands at the right hand of the needy one , to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.