Psalm 109
New American Standard Bible
Vengeance Invoked upon Adversaries.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
109 (A)God of my praise,
(B)Do not be silent!
2 For they have opened a [a]wicked and (C)deceitful mouth against me;
They have spoken [b]against me with a (D)lying tongue.
3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And have fought against me (E)without cause.
4 In return (F)for my love they act as my accusers;
But (G)I am in prayer.
5 So they have [c](H)repaid me evil for good,
And (I)hatred for my love.
6 Appoint a wicked person over him,
And may an [d](J)accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, may he (K)come out guilty,
And may his (L)prayer become sin.
8 May (M)his days be few;
May (N)another take his office.
9 May his (O)children be fatherless,
And his (P)wife a widow.
10 May his (Q)children wander about and beg;
And may they (R)seek sustenance [e]far from their ruined homes.
11 May (S)the creditor [f]seize everything that he has,
And may (T)strangers plunder the product of his labor.
12 May there be none to [g](U)extend kindness to him,
Nor (V)any to be gracious to his fatherless children.
13 May his (W)descendants be [h]eliminated;
May their (X)name be wiped out in a following generation.
14 May (Y)the guilt of his fathers be remembered [i]before the Lord,
And do not let the sin of his mother be (Z)wiped out.
15 May (AA)they be before the Lord continually,
So that He may (AB)eliminate their memory from the earth;
16 Because he did not remember to show mercy,
But persecuted the (AC)afflicted and needy person,
And the (AD)despondent in heart, to (AE)put them to death.
17 He also loved cursing, so (AF)it came to him;
And he did not delight in blessing, so it was far from him.
18 But he (AG)clothed himself with cursing as with his garment,
And it (AH)entered [j]his body like water,
And like oil into his bones.
19 May it be to him as (AI)a garment with which he covers himself,
And as a belt which he constantly (AJ)wears around himself.
20 May this be the (AK)reward of my accusers from the Lord,
And of those who (AL)speak evil against my soul.
21 But You, [k]God, the Lord, deal kindly with me (AM)for the sake of Your name;
Because (AN)Your mercy is good, rescue me;
22 For (AO)I am afflicted and needy,
And [l]my heart is (AP)wounded within me.
23 I am passing (AQ)like a shadow when it lengthens;
I am shaken off (AR)like the locust.
24 My (AS)knees [m]are weak from (AT)fasting,
And my flesh has grown lean, without fatness.
25 I also have become a (AU)disgrace to them;
When they see me, they (AV)shake their head.
26 (AW)Help me, Lord my God;
Save me according to Your mercy.
27 [n]And may they (AX)know that this is Your hand;
You, Lord, have done it.
28 (AY)They will curse, but You bless;
When they arise, they will be ashamed,
But Your (AZ)servant will be glad.
29 [o]May (BA)my accusers be clothed with dishonor,
And [p]may they (BB)cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
30 With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the Lord;
And (BC)I will praise Him in the midst of many.
31 For He stands (BD)at the right hand of the needy,
To save him from those who (BE)judge his soul.
Footnotes
- Psalm 109:2 Lit wicked mouth and the deceitful
- Psalm 109:2 Lit with
- Psalm 109:5 Lit laid upon me
- Psalm 109:6 Or adversary, Satan
- Psalm 109:10 Or out of their desolate places
- Psalm 109:11 Lit ensnare, strike at
- Psalm 109:12 Lit continue
- Psalm 109:13 Lit for cutting off
- Psalm 109:14 Lit to
- Psalm 109:18 Lit his inward parts
- Psalm 109:21 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Psalm 109:22 Lit one has pierced my heart within me
- Psalm 109:24 Or totter
- Psalm 109:27 Or That they may know
- Psalm 109:29 Or My accusers will be
- Psalm 109:29 Or they will cover
Psalm 109
Common English Bible
Psalm 109
To the leader. Of David. A psalm.
109 God of my praise, don’t keep quiet,
2 because the mouths of wicked liars
have opened up against me,
talking about me with lying tongues.
3 Hateful words surround me;
they attack me for no reason.
4 Instead of returning my love, they accuse me—
but I am at prayer.
5 They repay me evil for good,
hatred in return for my love.
6 “Appoint a wicked person to be against this person,” they say,
“an accuser to stand right next to him.
7 When the sentence is passed, let him be found guilty—
let his prayer be found sinful!
8 Let his days be few;
let someone else assume his position.
9 Let his children become orphans;
let his wife turn into a widow.
10 Let his children wander aimlessly, begging,
driven out of their ruined homes.
11 Let a creditor seize everything he owns;
let strangers plunder his wealth.
12 Let no one extend faithful love to him;
let no one have mercy on his orphans.
13 Let his descendants be eliminated;
let their names be wiped out in just one generation!
14 Let his father’s wrongdoing be remembered before the Lord;
let his mother’s sin never be wiped out.
15 Let them be before the Lord always,
and let God eliminate the very memory of them from the land.
16 All because this person didn’t remember to demonstrate faithful love,
but chased after the poor and needy—
even the brokenhearted—with deadly intent!
17 Since he loved to curse,
let it come back on him!
Since he didn’t care much for blessing,
let it be far away from him!
18 Since he wore curses like a coat,
let them seep inside him like water,
seep into his bones like oil!
19 Let them be like the clothes he wears,
like a belt that is always around him.”
20 But let all that be the reward my accusers get from the Lord,
the reward for those who speak evil against me!
21 But you, Lord, my Lord!—
act on my behalf for the sake of your name;
deliver me because your faithful love is so good;
22 because I am poor and needy,
and my heart is broken.
23 Like a lengthening shadow, I’m passing away;
I’m shaken off, like some locust.
24 My legs are weak from fasting;
my body is skin and bones.
25 I’ve become a joke to my accusers;
when they see me, they just shake their heads.
26 Help me, Lord my God!
Save me according to your faithful love!
27 And let them know that this is by your hand—
that you have done it, Lord!
28 Let them curse—but you, bless me!
If they rise up, let them be disgraced,
but let your servant celebrate!
29 Let my accusers be dressed in shame;
let them wear their disgrace like a coat.
30 But I will give great thanks to the Lord with my mouth;
among a great crowd I will praise God!
31 Because God stands right next to the needy,
to save them from any who would condemn them.
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