Psalms 109
109
(A psalm by David for the music leader.)
A prayer for the LORD's help
1I praise you, God!
Don't keep silent.
2Destructive and deceitful lies
are told about me,
3and hateful things are said
for no reason.
4I had pity and prayed#109.4 and prayed: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
for my enemies,
but their words to me
were harsh and cruel.
5For being friendly and kind,
they paid me back
with meanness and hatred.
6My enemies said,
“Find some worthless fools
to accuse him of a crime.
7Try him and find him guilty!
Consider his prayers a lie.
8Cut his life short#Ac 1.20.
and let someone else
have his job.
9Make orphans of his children
and a widow of his wife;
10make his children beg for food
and live in the slums.
11“Let the people he owes
take everything he owns.
Give it all to strangers.
12Don't let anyone be kind to him
or have pity on the children
he leaves behind.
13Bring an end to his family,
and from now on let him be
a forgotten man.
14“Don't let the LORD forgive
the sins of his parents
and his ancestors.
15Don't let the LORD forget
the sins of his family,
or let anyone remember
his family ever lived.
16He was so cruel to the poor,
homeless, and discouraged
that they died young.
17“He cursed others.
Now place a curse on him!
He never wished others well.
Wish only trouble for him!
18He cursed others more often
than he dressed himself.
Let his curses strike him deep,
just as water and olive oil
soak through to our bones.
19Let his curses surround him,
just like the clothes
he wears each day.”
20Those are the cruel things
my enemies wish for me.
Let it all happen to them!
21Be true to your name, LORD God!
Show your great kindness
and rescue me.
22I am poor and helpless,
and I have lost all hope.
23I am fading away
like an evening shadow;
I am tossed aside
like a crawling insect.
24I have gone without eating,#109.24 without eating: See the note at 35.13.
until my knees are weak,
and my body is bony.
25When my enemies see me,#Mt 27.39; Mk 15.29.
they say cruel things
and shake their heads.
26Please help me, LORD God!
Come and save me
because of your love.
27Let others know that you alone
have saved me.
28I don't care if they curse me,
as long as you bless me.
You will make my enemies fail
when they attack,
and you will make me glad
to be your servant.
29You will cover them with shame,
just as their bodies
are covered with clothes.
30I will sing your praises
and thank you, LORD,
when your people meet.
31You help everyone in need,
and you defend them
when they are on trial.
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Psalms 109: CEVUK
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012
Psalms 109
109
Prayer of a Person Falsely Accused
1For the leader. A psalm of David.
I
2O God, whom I praise, do not be silent,#Ps 35:22; 83:1.
for wicked and treacherous mouths attack me.
They speak against me with lying tongues;
3with hateful words they surround me,
attacking me without cause.
4In return for my love they slander me,
even though I prayed for them.
5They repay me evil for good,
hatred for my love.#Ps 35:12; 38:21; Prv 17:13; Jer 18:20.
II
6Appoint an evil one over him,
an accuser#An accuser: Hebrew satan, a word occurring in Jb 1–2 and Zec 3:1–2. In the latter passage Satan stands at the right hand of the high priest to bring false accusations against him before God. Here the accuser is human. to stand at his right hand,
7That he may be judged and found guilty,
that his plea may be in vain.
8May his days be few;
may another take his office.#Acts 1:20.
9May his children be fatherless,
his wife, a widow.#Ex 22:23; Jer 18:21.
10May his children wander and beg,
driven from their hovels.
11May the usurer snare all he owns,
strangers plunder all he earns.
12May no one treat him with mercy
or pity his fatherless children.
13May his posterity be destroyed,#Ps 21:11; Prv 10:7.
their name rooted out in the next generation.
14May his fathers’ guilt be mentioned to the Lord;
his mother’s sin not rooted out.#Ex 20:5.
15May their guilt be always before the Lord,#Ps 90:8.
till their memory is banished from the earth,#Ps 34:16.
16For he did not remember to show mercy,
but hounded the wretched poor
and brought death to the brokenhearted.
17He loved cursing; may it come upon him;
he hated blessing; may none come to him.
18May cursing clothe him like a robe;
may it enter his belly like water,
his bones like oil.
19May it be near as the clothes he wears,
as the belt always around him.
20#May this be the reward…from the Lord: the psalmist prays that God ratify the curses of Ps 109:6–19 and bring them upon the wicked.May this be the reward for my accusers from the Lord,
for those speaking evil against me.
III
21But you, Lord, are my Lord,
deal kindly with me for your name’s sake;
in your great mercy rescue me.
22For I am poor and needy;
my heart is pierced within me.
23Like a lengthening shadow I am gone,
I am shaken off like the locust.
24My knees totter from fasting;#Ps 69:11–13.
my flesh has wasted away.
25I have become a mockery to them;
when they see me, they shake their heads.
26Help me, Lord, my God;
save me in your mercy.
27Make them know this is your hand,
that you, Lord, have done this.
28Though they curse, may you bless;
arise, shame them, that your servant may rejoice.
29Clothe my accusers with disgrace;
make them wear their shame like a mantle.
30I will give fervent thanks to the Lord;
before a crowd I will praise him.#Ps 111:1.
31For he stands at the right hand of the poor
to save him from those who pass judgment on him.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc