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109 To victory, the psalm of David. God, hold thou not still my praising; (To victory, the song of David. God of my praises, be thou not silent;)

for the mouth of the sinner, and the mouth of the guileful man, is opened on me. They spake against me with a guileful tongue, (for the mouth of the sinner, and the mouth of the deceitful, were opened against me. Yea, they spoke against me with their lying tongues,)

and they (en)compassed me with words of hatred; and fought against me without cause. (and they surrounded me with hateful words; and fought against me for no reason.)

For that thing that they should love me (for), they backbited me; but I prayed (for them).

And they setted against me evils for goods (And they paid me back evil for good); and hatred for my love.

Ordain thou a sinner on him; and the devil stand on his right half. (Ordain thou a sinner over my enemy; and let the devil stand at his right hand.)

When he is deemed, go he out condemned; and his prayer be made into sin. (When he is judged, let him go out condemned; and let his prayer be made into sin.)

His days be made few; and another take his bishopric. (Let his days be made few; and another take his office.)

(Let) His sons be made fatherless; and his wife a widow.

10 His sons trembling be borne over, and beg; and be they cast out of their habitations. (Let his sons and daughters be made vagrants, and go begging; yea, let them be thrown out of their dwelling places.)

11 An usurer seek all his chattel; and aliens ravish his travails. (Let an usurer take away all his chattel, or his substance; and let foreigners, or strangers, take all that he hath worked for.)

12 None helper be to him; neither any be that have mercy on his motherless children. (Let there be no one to help him; nor let anyone have mercy on his motherless children.)

13 His sons be made into perishing (Let all his sons and daughters die); (and) the name of him be done away in one generation.

14 The wickedness of his fathers come again into mind in the sight of the Lord; and the sin of his mother be not done away. (Let the wickedness of his forefathers be remembered by the Lord; and let his mother’s sin be not done away, or wiped out.)

15 Be they made ever[more] against the Lord; and the mind of them perish from earth. (Let their sins be before the Lord forevermore; but let the remembrance of these people perish from all the earth.)

16 For that thing that he thought not to do mercy, and he pursued a poor man and a beggar; and to slay a man compunct in heart. (Because he never thought to show mercy, or love, but he persecuted the poor and the needy; and he even killed the broken-hearted.)

17 And he loved cursing, and it shall come to him; and he would not blessing, and it shall be made far from him. (And because he loved to curse others, now let it come to him; and because he delighted not to give anyone a blessing, now let it be made far from him.)

18 And he clothed cursing as a cloth, and it entered as water into his inner things; and as oil in his bones. (He clothed himself in cursing, like with a cloak, and it entered into his inner things, like water; yea, like oil into his bones.)

19 Be it made to him as a cloth, with which he is covered; and as a girdle, with which he is ever[more] girded. (Let it be made to him like a cloak, with which he is covered; yea, like a girdle, with which he is girded forevermore.)

20 This is the work of them that backbite me with the Lord; and that speak evils against my life. (Let this be the reward of those who backbite me with the Lord; yea, those who speak evil against me.)

21 And thou, Lord God, do with me for thy name; for thy mercy is sweet. Deliver thou me, (But thou, Lord God, do with me for the sake of thy name; for thy love is good. Save thou me,)

22 for I am needy and poor (for I am poor and needy); and mine heart is troubled within me.

23 I am taken away as a shadow, when it boweth away; and I am shaken away as locusts. (I fade away like a shadow in the evening; and I am shaken off like a bug.)

24 My knees be made feeble with fasting; and my flesh was changed for oil. (My knees be made weak with fasting; and my flesh wasteth away for lack of oil.)

25 And I am made (a) shame to them; they saw me, and moved their heads (they saw me, and shook their heads).

26 My Lord God, help thou me; make thou me safe by thy mercy. (My Lord God, help thou me; save thou me in thy mercy/save thou me because of thy love.)

27 And they shall know, that this is thine hand; and (that) thou, Lord, hast done it.

28 And they shall curse, and thou shalt bless, they that rise against me, be shamed; but thy servant shall be glad. (And they shall curse, but thou shalt bless, so let those who rise against me, be put to shame; but thy servant shall be glad.)

29 They that backbite me, be clothed with shame; and be they covered with their shame, as with a double cloth. (Let those who backbite me, be clothed with shame; yea, let them be covered with their shame, like with a cloak.)

30 I shall acknowledge to the Lord greatly with my mouth; and I shall praise him in the middle of many men. (With my mouth I shall greatly thank the Lord; yea, I shall praise him in the midst of many people.)

31 Which stood nigh on the right half of a poor man; to make safe my soul from pursuers. (For he standeth close to the right hand of the poor; to save them from their pursuers, or their persecutors.)

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