Psalm 109

Wycliffe Bible

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;)

² 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,)

³ 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.)

⁴ For that thing that they should love me (for), they backbited me; but I prayed (for them).

⁵ And they setted against me evils for goods (And they paid me back evil for good); and hatred for my love.

⁶ 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.)

⁷ 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.)

⁸ His days be made few; and another take his bishopric. (Let his days be made few; and another take his office.)

⁹ (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.)