Psalm 109
World English Bible
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.
109 God of my praise, don’t remain silent,
2 for they have opened the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit against me.
They have spoken to me with a lying tongue.
3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
and fought against me without a cause.
4 In return for my love, they are my adversaries;
but I am in prayer.
5 They have rewarded me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.
6 Set a wicked man over him.
Let an adversary stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, let him come out guilty.
Let his prayer be turned into sin.
8 Let his days be few.
Let another take his office.
9 Let his children be fatherless,
and his wife a widow.
10 Let his children be wandering beggars.
Let them be sought from their ruins.
11 Let the creditor seize all that he has.
Let strangers plunder the fruit of his labor.
12 Let there be no one to extend kindness to him,
neither let there be anyone to have pity on his fatherless children.
13 Let his posterity be cut off.
In the generation following let their name be blotted out.
14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by Yahweh.
Don’t let the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15 Let them be before Yahweh continually,
that he may cut off their memory from the earth;
16 because he didn’t remember to show kindness,
but persecuted the poor and needy man,
the broken in heart, to kill them.
17 Yes, he loved cursing, and it came to him.
He didn’t delight in blessing, and it was far from him.
18 He clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment.
It came into his inward parts like water,
like oil into his bones.
19 Let it be to him as the clothing with which he covers himself,
for the belt that is always around him.
20 This is the reward of my adversaries from Yahweh,
of those who speak evil against my soul.
21 But deal with me, Yahweh the Lord,[a] for your name’s sake,
because your loving kindness is good, deliver me;
22 for I am poor and needy.
My heart is wounded within me.
23 I fade away like an evening shadow.
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting.
My body is thin and lacks fat.
25 I have also become a reproach to them.
When they see me, they shake their head.
26 Help me, Yahweh, my God.
Save me according to your loving kindness;
27 that they may know that this is your hand;
that you, Yahweh, have done it.
28 They may curse, but you bless.
When they arise, they will be shamed,
but your servant shall rejoice.
29 Let my adversaries be clothed with dishonor.
Let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
30 I will give great thanks to Yahweh with my mouth.
Yes, I will praise him among the multitude.
31 For he will stand at the right hand of the needy,
to save him from those who judge his soul.
Footnotes
- 109:21 The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.”
Psalm 109
International Standard Version
To the Director. A Davidic psalm.
A Prayer against the Evil One
109 God, whom I praise,
do not be silent,
2 for the mouths of wicked and deceitful people
are opened against me;
they speak against me with lying tongues.
3 They surround me with hate-filled words,
attacking me for no reason.
4 Instead of receiving[a] my love, they accuse me,
though I continue in prayer.
5 They devise evil against me instead of good,
and hatred in place of my love.
6 Appoint an evil person over him;
may an accuser stand at his right side.[b]
7 When he is judged, may he be found guilty;
may his prayer be regarded as sin.
8 May his days be few;
may another take over his position.[c]
9 May his children become fatherless,
and his wife a widow.
10 May his children roam around begging,
seeking food[d] while driven far[e] from their ruined homes.
11 May creditors seize all his possessions,
and may foreigners loot the property he has acquired.[f]
12 May no one extend gracious love to him,
or show favor to his fatherless children.
13 May his descendants[g] be eliminated,
and their memory[h] be erased from the next generation.
14 May his ancestors’ guilt be remembered in the Lord’s presence,
and may his mother’s guilt not be erased.
15 May what[i] they have done[j] be continually in the Lord’s presence;
and may their memory be excised from the earth.
16 For he didn’t think to extend gracious love;
he harassed to death the poor, the needy, and the broken hearted.[k]
17 He loved to curse—may his curses[l] return upon him!
He took no delight in blessing others[m]—
so may blessings[n] be far from him.
18 He wore curses like a garment—
may they[o] enter his inner being like water
and his bones like oil.
19 May those curses[p] wrap around him like a garment,
or like a belt that one always wears.
20 May this be the way the Lord repays my accuser,
those who speak evil against me.
21 Now you, Lord my God, defend[q] me for your name’s sake;
because your gracious love is good, deliver me!
22 Indeed, I am poor and needy,
and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am fading[r] away like a shadow late in the day;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees give way[s] from fasting,
and my skin is lean, deprived of oil.
25 I have become an object of derision to them—
they shake their heads whenever they see me.
26 Help me, Lord my God!
Deliver me in accord with your gracious love!
27 Then they will realize that your hand is in this—
that you, Lord, have accomplished it.
28 They will curse,
but you will bless.
When they attack,[t] they will[u] be humiliated,
while your servant rejoices.
29 May my accusers be clothed with shame
and wrapped in their humiliation as with a robe.
30 I will give many thanks to the Lord with my mouth,
praising him publicly,
31 for he stands[v] at the right hand of the needy one,
to deliver him from his accusers.[w]
Footnotes
- Psalm 109:4 The Heb. lacks receiving
- Psalm 109:6 Lit. hand
- Psalm 109:8 Or office
- Psalm 109:10 The Heb. lacks food
- Psalm 109:10 So LXX; the Heb. lacks while driven far
- Psalm 109:11 Or the result of his labor
- Psalm 109:13 Lit. May those after him
- Psalm 109:13 Or their name
- Psalm 109:15 The Heb. lacks what
- Psalm 109:15 The Heb. lacks have done
- Psalm 109:16 Or downhearted
- Psalm 109:17 Lit. may it
- Psalm 109:17 The Heb. lacks others
- Psalm 109:17 Lit. it
- Psalm 109:18 Lit. it
- Psalm 109:19 Lit. may it
- Psalm 109:21 Lit. God, do to
- Psalm 109:23 Or walking
- Psalm 109:24 Or knees stagger
- Psalm 109:28 Lit. arise
- Psalm 109:28 So MT DSS 4QPsf 11QPsa; LXX reads arise, let my opponents
- Psalm 109:31 So MT; LXX DSS 11QPsa read he has stood
- Psalm 109:31 Or from those who condemn him
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