² For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me;
they speak against me with lying tongues.^(B)
3 They surround me with hateful words
and attack me without cause.^(C)
4 In return for my love they accuse me,
but I continue to pray.^[a](D)
5 They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.^(E)

⁶ Set a wicked person over him;
let an accuser^[b] stand at his right hand.^(F)
7 When he is judged, let him be found guilty,
and let his prayer be counted as sin.^(G)
8 Let his days be few;
let another take over his position.^(H)
9 Let his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.^(I)
10 Let his children wander as beggars,
searching for food far^[c] from their demolished homes.^(J)
11 Let a creditor seize all he has;
let strangers plunder what he has worked for.^(K)
12 Let no one show him kindness,
and let no one be gracious to his fatherless children.^(L)
13 Let the line of his descendants be cut off;
let their name be blotted out in the next generation.^(M)
14 Let his ancestors’ guilt
be remembered before the Lord,^(N)
and do not let his mother’s sin be blotted out.^(O)
15 Let their sins^[d] always remain before the Lord,
and let Him erase^[e] all memory of them from the earth.^(P)

¹⁶ For he did not think to show kindness,
but pursued the afflicted, poor, and brokenhearted
in order to put them to death.^(Q)
17 He loved cursing—let it fall on him;
he took no delight in blessing—let it be far from him.^(R)
18 He wore cursing like his coat—
let it enter his body like water
and go into his bones like oil.^(S)
19 Let it be like a robe he wraps around himself,
like a belt he always wears.^(T)
20 Let this be the Lord’s payment to my accusers,
to those who speak evil against me.^(U)

²¹ But You, Yahweh my Lord,
deal kindly with me because of Your name;^(V)
deliver me because of the goodness of Your faithful love.^(W)
22 For I am afflicted and needy;^(X)
my heart is wounded within me.^(Y)
23 I fade away like a lengthening shadow;^(Z)
I am shaken off like a locust.
²⁴ My knees are weak from fasting,
and my body is emaciated.^[f](AA)
25 I have become an object of ridicule to my accusers;^[g]
when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn.^(AB)

²⁶ Help me, Lord my God;
save me according to Your faithful love^(AC)
27 so they may know that this is Your hand
and that You, Lord, have done it.^(AD)
28 Though they curse, You will bless.
When they rise up, they will be put to shame,
but Your servant will rejoice.^(AE)
29 My accusers will be clothed with disgrace;
they will wear their shame like a cloak.^(AF)
30 I will fervently thank the Lord with my mouth;
I will praise Him in the presence of many.^(AG)
31 For He stands at the right hand of the needy
to save him from those who would condemn him.^(AH)