Psalm 109

A Psalm of  David

O God, whom I praise, do not be silent.
For the mouths of the evil and deceitful
Are speaking against me with lying tongues.
They have surrounded me with words of hatred
And fight against me without any cause.
They return my friendship by accusing me,
Even as I give myself to pray for them.
They repay me evil for good, hate for love.

Find an evil man to betray him,
An adversary to be his counsel.
When he is tried, let him be guilty,
May his prayer be counted an offence.
Let his days in office be few
And another take his position.
May his children be fatherless,
And his wife become a widow.
May his children be vagabonds,
Driven far from their ruined homes
And reduced to beg for their bread.
May the creditor seize all he owns
And strangers loot his property.
Let there be none to show him kindness
Or pity his fatherless children.
Let his line be cut off and his name
Not passed to the next generation.
Let his father’s iniquities
Be remembered by Jehovah.
Erase not the sins of his mother.
Let them be forever recalled
By Jehovah that he may blot out
The memory of them on earth.

Because he never thought to show kindness:
He persecuted the poor and the needy,
Broke their spirits, even drove them to their graves.
He loved cursings; may they fall upon him.
He hated blessings; may they be far from him.
He wore cursings as if they were a garment.
May they soak into his body like water
And seep into his bones like olive oil.
May they be like a robe clinging to him,
Like a belt girded round him forever.
May these curses be Jehovah’s punishment
For accusers who speak evil of me.

You, O Jehovah, Sovereign Master,
Treat me kindly for the sake of your name,
Deliver me through the goodness of your love,
For I am afflicted and destitute,
And my heart within me is full of pain.
I fade away like an evening shadow.
I have been shaken away like a locust.
My knees are weak and shaky from fasting.
My body is gaunt; I am skin and bones.
I have become an object of scorn to them;
When they look upon me, they shake their heads.

Help me, O Jehovah, my god!
Save me with your loving kindness.
Let them know this is your handiwork,
That you, Jehovah, have done it.
They may curse me, but you will bless me.
Let those who attack me be disgraced,
But your servant, he will rejoice.
Let my accusers be robed with shame,
And may disgrace be their mantle.

With my mouth I give thanks to Jehovah,
And in the midst of many I praise him.
For he stands at the right hand of the needy
To save his soul from his persecutors.