Add parallel Print Page Options

Psalm 109

For the Music Director. A Psalm of David.

Do not remain silent,
    O God of my praise!
For the mouth of the wicked and deceitful
    are opened against me;
    they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
They encircled me with words of hatred
    and fought against me without cause.
In return for my love they are my adversaries,
    but I give myself to prayer.
They have rewarded me evil for good
    and hatred for my love.

Set a wicked man against him,
    and let an accuser stand at his right hand.
When he shall be judged, let him be condemned,
    and let his prayer be reckoned as sin.
Let his days be few,
    and let another take his office.
Let his children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow.
10 Let his children be wandering beggars;
    let them seek their bread far from their desolate places.
11 Let the creditor seize all that he has;
    let the strangers plunder the fruit of his labor.
12 Let there be none to extend mercy unto him,
    neither let there be any to pity his fatherless children.
13 Let his posterity be cut off,
    and in the generation following let his name be blotted out.
14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the Lord,
    and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15 Let them be before the Lord continually,
    that the Lord 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 broken-hearted
    to their death.
17 As he loved cursing,
    so let it come over him;
as he did not delight in blessing,
    so let it be far from him.
18 As he clothed himself with cursing like a garment,
    so let it soak into him like water,
    and like oil into his bones.
19 Let it be unto him as the garment that covers him,
    and a belt that he continually wears.
20 Let this be the reward of my adversaries from the Lord,
    and of those who speak evil against my soul.

21 But You, O God my Lord,
    work on my behalf for your name’s sake;
    because your mercy is good, deliver me.
22 For I am poor and needy,
    and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am gone like a shadow in the evening;
    I am tossed as the locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting,
    and my body is thin with no fat.
25 I am a reproach to my accusers;
    when they look upon me, they shake their heads.

26 Help me, O Lord my God!
    Save me according to Your mercy,
27 that they may know that this is by Your hand,
    that You, O Lord, have done it.
28 Let them curse, but You will bless;
    when they arise, let them be ashamed,
    but let Your servant rejoice.
29 Let my adversaries be clothed with shame,
    and let them cover themselves with their own disgrace like a cloak.

30 I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth;
    indeed, I will praise Him among the multitude.
31 For He stands at the right hand of the poor,
    to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

Psalm 109

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

My God, whom I praise,(A)
    do not remain silent,(B)
for people who are wicked and deceitful(C)
    have opened their mouths against me;
    they have spoken against me with lying tongues.(D)
With words of hatred(E) they surround me;
    they attack me without cause.(F)
In return for my friendship they accuse me,
    but I am a man of prayer.(G)
They repay me evil for good,(H)
    and hatred for my friendship.

Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;
    let an accuser(I) stand at his right hand.
When he is tried, let him be found guilty,(J)
    and may his prayers condemn(K) him.
May his days be few;(L)
    may another take his place(M) of leadership.
May his children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow.(N)
10 May his children be wandering beggars;(O)
    may they be driven[a] from their ruined homes.
11 May a creditor(P) seize all he has;
    may strangers plunder(Q) the fruits of his labor.(R)
12 May no one extend kindness to him
    or take pity(S) on his fatherless children.
13 May his descendants be cut off,(T)
    their names blotted out(U) from the next generation.
14 May the iniquity of his fathers(V) be remembered before the Lord;
    may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
15 May their sins always remain before(W) the Lord,
    that he may blot out their name(X) from the earth.

16 For he never thought of doing a kindness,
    but hounded to death the poor
    and the needy(Y) and the brokenhearted.(Z)
17 He loved to pronounce a curse—
    may it come back on him.(AA)
He found no pleasure in blessing—
    may it be far from him.
18 He wore cursing(AB) as his garment;
    it entered into his body like water,(AC)
    into his bones like oil.
19 May it be like a cloak wrapped(AD) about him,
    like a belt tied forever around him.
20 May this be the Lord’s payment(AE) to my accusers,
    to those who speak evil(AF) of me.

21 But you, Sovereign Lord,
    help me for your name’s sake;(AG)
    out of the goodness of your love,(AH) deliver me.(AI)
22 For I am poor and needy,
    and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I fade away like an evening shadow;(AJ)
    I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees give(AK) way from fasting;(AL)
    my body is thin and gaunt.(AM)
25 I am an object of scorn(AN) to my accusers;
    when they see me, they shake their heads.(AO)

26 Help me,(AP) Lord my God;
    save me according to your unfailing love.
27 Let them know(AQ) that it is your hand,
    that you, Lord, have done it.
28 While they curse,(AR) may you bless;
    may those who attack me be put to shame,
    but may your servant rejoice.(AS)
29 May my accusers be clothed with disgrace
    and wrapped in shame(AT) as in a cloak.

30 With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord;
    in the great throng(AU) of worshipers I will praise him.
31 For he stands at the right hand(AV) of the needy,
    to save their lives from those who would condemn them.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 109:10 Septuagint; Hebrew sought