Psalm 109

New King James Version

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!
²For 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.
³They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And fought against me ^(C)without a cause.
⁴In return for my love they are my accusers,
But I give myself to prayer.
⁵Thus ^(D)they have rewarded me evil for good,
And hatred for my love.

⁶Set a wicked man over him,
And let ^(E)an ^[a]accuser stand at his right hand.
⁷When he is judged, let him be found guilty,
And ^(F)let his prayer become sin.
⁸Let his days be ^(G)few,
And ^(H)let another take his office.
⁹^(I)Let his children be fatherless,
And his wife a widow.
¹⁰Let 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.
¹²Let 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.
¹⁵Let them be continually before the Lord,
That He may ^(O)cut off the memory of them from the earth;
¹⁶Because he did not remember to show mercy,
But persecuted the poor and needy man,
That he might even slay the ^(P)broken in heart.
¹⁷^(Q)As he loved cursing, so let it come to him;
As he did not delight in blessing, so let it be far from him.
¹⁸As he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment,
So let it ^(R)enter his body like water,
And like oil into his bones.
¹⁹Let it be to him like the garment which covers him,
And for a belt with which he girds himself continually.
²⁰Let this be the Lord’s reward to my accusers,
And to those who speak evil against my person.

²¹But You, O God the Lord,
Deal with me for Your name’s sake;
Because Your mercy is good, deliver me.
²²For I am poor and needy,
And my heart is wounded within me.
²³I am gone ^(S)like a shadow when it lengthens;
I am shaken off like a locust.
²⁴My ^(T)knees are weak through fasting,
And my flesh is feeble from lack of fatness.
²⁵I also have become ^(U)a reproach to them;
When they look at me, ^(V)they shake their heads.

²⁶Help me, O Lord my God!
Oh, save me according to Your mercy,
²⁷^(W)That they may know that this is Your hand—
That You, Lord, have done it!
²⁸^(X)Let them curse, but You bless;
When they arise, let them be ashamed,
But let ^(Y)Your servant rejoice.
²⁹^(Z)Let my accusers be clothed with shame,
And let them cover themselves with their own disgrace as with a mantle.

³⁰I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth;
Yes, ^(AA)I will praise Him among the multitude.
³¹For ^(AB)He shall stand at the right hand of the poor,
To save him from those ^[e]who condemn him.

Footnotes

Psalm 109:6 Heb. satan
Psalm 109:10 wander continuously
Psalm 109:10 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Vg. be cast out
Psalm 109:13 descendants be destroyed
Psalm 109:31 Lit. judging his soul

1 Peter 4

New King James Version

Christ’s Example to Be Followed

4 Therefore, since Christ suffered ^[a]for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, ²that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, ^(A)but for the will of God. ³For we have spent enough of our past ^[b]lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. ⁴In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. ⁵They will give an account to Him who is ready ^(B)to judge the living and the dead. ⁶For this reason ^(C)the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but ^(D)live according to God in the spirit.

Serving for God’s Glory

⁷But ^(E)the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. ⁸And above all things have fervent love for one another, for ^(F)“love will cover a multitude of sins.” ⁹^(G)Be hospitable to one another ^(H)without grumbling. ¹⁰^(I)As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, ^(J)as good stewards of ^(K)the manifold grace of God. ¹¹^(L)If anyone speaks, let him speak as the ^[c]oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that ^(M)in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the ^[d]dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Suffering for God’s Glory

¹²Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; ¹³but rejoice ^(N)to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that ^(O)when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. ¹⁴If you are ^[e]reproached for the name of Christ, ^(P)blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. ^[f]On their part He is blasphemed, ^(Q)but on your part He is glorified. ¹⁵But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a ^[g]busybody in other people’s matters. ¹⁶Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this ^[h]matter.

¹⁷For the time has come ^(R)for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, ^(S)what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸Now

^(T)“If the righteous one is scarcely saved,
Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”

¹⁹Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God ^(U)commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.