Psalms 109:1–31

¹ For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O God of my praise, be not silent. ² For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me; they speak against me with lying tongues. ³ They surround me with hateful words and attack me without cause. ⁴ In return for my love they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer. ⁵ They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my love. ⁶ Set over him a wicked man; let an accuser stand at his right hand. ⁷ When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayer be regarded as sin. ⁸ May his days be few; may another take his position. ⁹ May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. ¹⁰ May his children wander as beggars, seeking sustenance far from their ruined homes. ¹¹ May the creditor seize all he owns, and strangers plunder the fruits of his labor. ¹² May there be no one to extend kindness to him, and no one to favor his fatherless children. ¹³ May his descendants be cut off; may their name be blotted out from the next generation. ¹⁴ May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, and the sin of his mother never be blotted out. ¹⁵ May their sins always remain before the LORD, that He may cut off their memory from the earth. ¹⁶ For he never thought to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and brokenhearted, even to their death. ¹⁷ The cursing that he loved, may it fall on him; the blessing in which he refused to delight, may it be far from him. ¹⁸ The cursing that he wore like a coat, may it soak into his body like water, and into his bones like oil. ¹⁹ May it be like a robe wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around him. ²⁰ May this be the LORD’s reward to my accusers, to those who speak evil against me. ²¹ But You, O GOD, the Lord, deal kindly with me for the sake of Your name; deliver me by the goodness of Your loving devotion. ²² For I am poor and needy; my heart is wounded within me. ²³ I am fading away like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust. ²⁴ My knees are weak from fasting, and my body grows lean and gaunt. ²⁵ I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads. ²⁶ Help me, O LORD my God; save me according to Your loving devotion. ²⁷ Let them know that this is Your hand, that You, O LORD, have done it. ²⁸ Though they curse, You will bless. When they rise up, they will be put to shame, but Your servant will rejoice. ²⁹ May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may they wear their shame like a robe. ³⁰ With my mouth I will thank the LORD profusely; I will praise Him in the presence of many. ³¹ For He stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from the condemners of his soul.