Plea for Judgment of False Accusers

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

109 Do(A) not keep silent,
O God of my praise!
For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful
Have opened against me;
They have spoken against me with a (B)lying tongue.
They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And fought against me (C)without a cause.
In return for my love they are my accusers,
But I give myself to prayer.
Thus (D)they have rewarded me evil for good,
And hatred for my love.

Set a wicked man over him,
And let (E)an [a]accuser stand at his right hand.
When he is judged, let him be found guilty,
And (F)let his prayer become sin.
Let his days be (G)few,
And (H)let another take his office.
(I)Let his children be fatherless,
And his wife a widow.
10 Let his children [b]continually be vagabonds, and beg;
Let them [c]seek their bread also from their desolate places.
11 (J)Let the creditor seize all that he has,
And let strangers plunder his labor.
12 Let there be none to extend mercy to him,
Nor let there be any to favor his fatherless children.
13 (K)Let his [d]posterity be cut off,
And in the generation following let their (L)name be blotted out.

14 (M)Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord,
And let not the sin of his mother (N)be blotted out.
15 Let them be continually before the Lord,
That He may (O)cut off the memory of them from the earth;

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 109:6 Heb. satan
  2. Psalm 109:10 wander continuously
  3. Psalm 109:10 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Vg. be cast out
  4. Psalm 109:13 descendants be destroyed

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.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 109:10 Septuagint; Hebrew sought