Psalm 109:1-20

English Standard Version

Help Me, O Lord My God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

109 ^(A)Be not silent, O ^(B)God of my praise!
²For wicked and ^(C)deceitful mouths are opened against me,
    speaking against me with lying tongues.
³They encircle me with words of hate,
    and attack me ^(D)without cause.
⁴In return for my love they ^(E)accuse me,
    but I ^(F)give myself to prayer.^[a]
⁵So they ^(G)reward me evil for good,
    and hatred for my love.

⁶^(H)Appoint a wicked man ^(I)against him;
    let an accuser stand ^(J)at his right hand.
⁷When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;
    let his ^(K)prayer be counted as sin!
⁸May his ^(L)days be few;
    may ^(M)another take his ^(N)office!
⁹May his ^(O)children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow!
¹⁰May his children ^(P)wander about and beg,
    ^(Q)seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
¹¹May ^(R)the creditor seize all that he has;
    may ^(S)strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
¹²Let there be none to ^(T)extend kindness to him,
    nor any to ^(U)pity his fatherless children!
¹³May his ^(V)posterity be cut off;
    may his ^(W)name be blotted out in the second generation!
¹⁴May ^(X)the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord,
    and let not the sin of his mother be ^(Y)blotted out!
¹⁵^(Z)Let them be before the Lord continually,
    that he may ^(AA)cut off the memory of them from the earth!

¹⁶For he did not remember to show kindness,
    but pursued ^(AB)the poor and needy
    and ^(AC)the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
¹⁷^(AD)He loved to curse; let curses come^[b] upon him!
    He did not delight in blessing; may it be far^[c] from him!
¹⁸He ^(AE)clothed himself with cursing as his coat;
    may it ^(AF)soak^[d] into his body like water,
    like oil into his bones!
¹⁹May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,
    like a belt that he puts on every day!
²⁰May this be the reward of my ^(AG)accusers from the Lord,
    of those who speak evil against my life!