Psalm 109
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1God, I praise you.
Don’t remain silent.
2Sinful people who lie and cheat have spoken against me.
They have used their tongues to tell lies about me.
3They gather all around me with their words of hatred.
They attack me without any reason.
4They bring charges against me,
even though I love them
and pray for them.
5They pay me back with evil for the good things I do.
They pay back my love with hatred.
6Appoint an evil person to take my enemies to court.
Let him stand at their right hand and bring charges against them.
7When they are tried, let them be found guilty.
May even their prayers judge them.
8May their days be few.
Let others take their places as leaders.
9May their children’s fathers die.
May their wives become widows.
10May their children be driven from their destroyed homes.
May they wander around like beggars.
11May everything those people own be taken away to pay for what they owe.
May strangers rob them of everything they’ve worked for.
12May no one be kind to them
or take pity on the children they leave behind.
13May their family line come to an end.
May their names be forgotten by those who live after them.
14May the Lord remember the evil things their fathers have done.
May he never erase the sins of their mothers.
15May the Lord never forget their sins.
Then he won’t let people remember the names of my enemies anymore.
16They never thought about doing anything kind.
Instead, they drove those who were poor and needy to their deaths.
They did the same thing to those whose hearts were broken.
17They loved to curse others.
May their curses come back on them.
They didn’t find any pleasure in giving anyone their blessing.
May no blessing ever come to them.
18They cursed others as easily as they put on clothes.
Cursing was as natural to them as getting a drink of water
or putting olive oil on their bodies.
19May their curses cover them like coats.
May their curses be wrapped around them like a belt forever.
20May that be the Lord’s way of paying back
those who bring charges against me.
May it happen to those who say
evil things about me.
21But Lord and King,
help me so that you bring honor to yourself.
Because your love is so good, save me.
22I am poor and needy.
My heart is wounded deep down inside me.
23I fade away like an evening shadow.
I’m like a locust that someone brushes off.
24My knees are weak because I’ve gone without food.
My body is very thin.
25Those who bring charges against me laugh at me.
When they see me, they shake their heads at me.
26Lord my God, help me.
Save me because of your faithful love.
27Lord, let my enemies know that you yourself have saved me.
You have done it with your own hand.
28They may curse me.
But may you bless me.
May those who attack me be put to shame.
But may I be filled with joy.
29May those who bring charges against me be clothed with dishonor.
May they be wrapped in shame as if it were a coat.
30With my mouth I will continually praise the Lord.
I will praise him when all his people gather for worship.
31He stands ready to help those who need it.
He saves them from those who are ready to sentence them to death.
Psalm 109
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1My God, whom I praise,
do not remain silent,
2for people who are wicked and deceitful
have opened their mouths against me;
they have spoken against me with lying tongues.
3With words of hatred they surround me;
they attack me without cause.
4In return for my friendship they accuse me,
but I am a man of prayer.
5They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my friendship.
6Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;
let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
and may his prayers condemn him.
8May his days be few;
may another take his place of leadership.
9May his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.
10May his children be wandering beggars;
may they be driven109:10 Septuagint; Hebrew sought from their ruined homes.
11May a creditor seize all he has;
may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
12May no one extend kindness to him
or take pity on his fatherless children.
13May his descendants be cut off,
their names blotted out from the next generation.
14May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord;
may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
15May their sins always remain before the Lord,
that he may blot out their name from the earth.
16For he never thought of doing a kindness,
but hounded to death the poor
and the needy and the brokenhearted.
17He loved to pronounce a curse—
may it come back on him.
He found no pleasure in blessing—
may it be far from him.
18He wore cursing as his garment;
it entered into his body like water,
into his bones like oil.
19May it be like a cloak wrapped about him,
like a belt tied forever around him.
20May this be the Lord’s payment to my accusers,
to those who speak evil of me.
21But you, Sovereign Lord,
help me for your name’s sake;
out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.
22For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is wounded within me.
23I fade away like an evening shadow;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24My knees give way from fasting;
my body is thin and gaunt.
25I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they shake their heads.
26Help me, Lord my God;
save me according to your unfailing love.
27Let them know that it is your hand,
that you, Lord, have done it.
28While they curse, may you bless;
may those who attack me be put to shame,
but may your servant rejoice.
29May my accusers be clothed with disgrace
and wrapped in shame as in a cloak.
30With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord;
in the great throng of worshipers I will praise him.
31For he stands at the right hand of the needy,
to save their lives from those who would condemn them.
