Psalms 109
1 For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;
For the leader. Of David, a psalm. O God whom I praise, keep not silence;
2 For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit have they opened against me: They have spoken unto me with a lying tongue.
for their wicked mouths they have opened against me, they speak to me with tongues that are false,
3 They have compassed me about also with words of hatred, And fought against me without a cause.
they beset me with words of hatred, and fight without cause against me.
4 For my love they are my adversaries: But I [give myself unto] prayer.
My love they requite with hostility, while for them I lift up my prayer.
5 And they have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love.
Evil for good they reward me, and hatred for my love.
6 Set thou a wicked man over him; And let an adversary stand at his right hand.
‘Set over him one who is godless,’ they say, ‘an opponent at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, let him come forth guilty; And let his prayer be turned into sin.
From his trial let him come forth guilty, may his prayer be counted as sin.
8 Let his days be few; [And] let another take his office.
Grant that his days may be few, that his office be seized by another.
9 Let his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow.
Grant that his children be fatherless, and that his wife be a widow.
10 Let his children be vagabonds, and beg; And let them seek [their bread] out of their desolate places.
Up and down may his children go begging, expelled from their desolate home.
11 Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; And let strangers make spoil of his labor.
May all that he owns be seized by the creditor may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil.
12 Let there be none to extend kindness unto him; Neither let there be any to have pity on his fatherless children.
‘May none extend to him kindness, or pity his fatherless children.
13 Let his posterity be cut off; In the generation following let their name be blotted out.
His descendants be doomed to destruction! Blotted out be his name in one generation!
14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with Jehovah; And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
May his father’s guilt be remembered, and his mother’s sin not blotted out:
15 Let them be before Jehovah continually, That he may cut off the memory of them from the earth;
on record always before the Lord, and his memory root from the earth;
16 Because he remembered not to show kindness, But persecuted the poor and needy man, And the broken in heart, to slay [them].
for he gave no thought to show kindness, but pursued the poor and the needy, drove the downhearted to death.
17 Yea, he loved cursing, and it came unto him; And he delighted not in blessing, and it was far from him.
‘May the curses he loved light upon him, may the blessings he loathed be afar.
18 He clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment, And it came into his inward parts like water, And like oil into his bones.
Like a garment he clothed him with curses; may they pierce to his inwards like water, and cling to his bones like oil.
19 Let it be unto him as the raiment wherewith he covereth himself, And for the girdle wherewith he is girded continually.
Let them be like the robe he wraps round him, like the belt he wears every day.’
20 This is the reward of mine adversaries from Jehovah, And of them that speak evil against my soul.
Be this the reward of my adversaries, of those who speak evil against me.
21 But deal thou with me, O Jehovah the Lord, for thy name’s sake: Because thy lovingkindness is good, deliver thou me;
But you, Lord my God, be true to your name, deal kindly with me; in your gracious kindness save me.
22 For I am poor and needy, And my heart is wounded within me.
For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.
I am gone like a lengthening shadow, I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting; And my flesh faileth of fatness.
My knees totter from fasting, my flesh is shrivelled and spare.
25 I am become also a reproach unto them: When they see me, they shake their head.
They heap insults upon me: when they see me, they shake their head.
26 Help me, O Jehovah my God; Oh save me according to thy lovingkindness:
Help me, O Lord my God, and save me in your kindness.
27 That they may know that this is thy hand; [That] thou, Jehovah, hast done it.
Teach them that this is your hand, and your own doing, O Lord.
28 Let them curse, but bless thou: When they arise, they shall be put to shame, But thy servant shall rejoice.
Let them curse, if only you bless. Put my assailants to shame, and make your servant glad.
29 Let mine adversaries be clothed with dishonor, And let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
My opponents be clothed with dishonour, and wrapped in a robe of shame.
30 I will give great thanks unto Jehovah with my mouth; Yea, I will praise him among the multitude.
I give thanks to you, Lord, with loud voice, I give praise in the midst of the throng;
31 For he will stand at the right hand of the needy, To save him from them that judge his soul.
for he stands by the poor, at his right hand, to save them from those who condemn them.
