Psalm 109

Psalm 109

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

    [1] Be not silent, O God of my praise!
    [2] For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
        speaking against me with lying tongues.
    [3] They encircle me with words of hate,
        and attack me without cause.
    [4] In return for my love they accuse me,
        but I give myself to prayer.
    [5] So they reward me evil for good,
        and hatred for my love.
    
    [6] Appoint a wicked man against him;
        let an accuser stand at his right hand.
    [7] When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;
        let his prayer be counted as sin!
    [8] May his days be few;
        may another take his office!
    [9] May his children be fatherless
        and his wife a widow!
    [10] May his children wander about and beg,
        seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
    [11] May the creditor seize all that he has;
        may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
    [12] Let there be none to extend kindness to him,
        nor any to pity his fatherless children!
    [13] May his posterity be cut off;
        may his name be blotted out in the second generation!
    [14] May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD,
        and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!
    [15] Let them be before the LORD continually,
        that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!
    
    [16] For he did not remember to show kindness,
        but pursued the poor and needy
        and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
    [17] He loved to curse; let curses come upon him!
        He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!
    [18] He clothed himself with cursing as his coat;
        may it soak into his body like water,
        like oil into his bones!
    [19] May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,
        like a belt that he puts on every day!
    [20] May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD,
        of those who speak evil against my life!
    
    [21] But you, O GOD my Lord,
        deal on my behalf for your name's sake;
        because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
    [22] For I am poor and needy,
        and my heart is stricken within me.
    [23] I am gone like a shadow at evening;
        I am shaken off like a locust.
    [24] My knees are weak through fasting;
        my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
    [25] I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
        when they see me, they wag their heads.
    
    [26] Help me, O LORD my God!
        Save me according to your steadfast love!
    [27] Let them know that this is your hand;
        you, O LORD, have done it!
    [28] Let them curse, but you will bless!
        They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
    [29] May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;
        may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!
   
    [30] With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD;
        I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
    [31] For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,
        to save him from those who condemn his soul to death. (ESV)