Psa 109 | HCSB | STEP | For the choir director . A Davidic psalm . God of my praise , do not be silent .

Psalms 109

Prayer against an Enemy

1 For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.

God of my praise, do not be silent. ^a

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. ^{▼▼Lit but I, prayer
,} ^e
5 They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my love. ^f

6 Set a wicked person over him;
let an accuser ^{▼▼Or adversary} stand at his right hand. ^h
7 When he is judged, let him be found ^{▼▼guilt/guilty: The liability to be punished for a fault, a sin, an act, or an omission unless there is forgiveness or atonement; the term normally concerns an objective fact, not a subjective feeling.}guilty,
and let his prayer be counted as sin. ^j
8 Let his days be few;
let another take over his position. ^k
9 Let his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow. ^l
10 Let his children wander as beggars,
searching for food far ^{▼▼LXX reads beggars, driven far} from their demolished homes. ⁿ
11 Let a creditor seize all he has;
let strangers plunder what he has worked for. ^o
12 Let no one show him kindness,
and let no one be gracious to his fatherless children. ^p
13 Let the line of his descendants be cut off;
let their name be blotted out in the next generation. ^q
14 Let his ancestors’ guilt
be remembered before the Lord, ^r
and do not let his mother’s sin be blotted out. ^s
15 Let their sins ^{▼▼Lit Let them} always remain before the Lord,
and let Him erase ^{▼▼Or cut off} all memory of them from the earth. ^v

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

21 But You, ^{▼▼Yahweh/Yah: Or The Lord; the personal name of God in Hebrew; "Yah" is the shortened form of the name.}Yahweh my Lord,
deal kindly with me because of Your name; ^ac
deliver me because of the goodness of Your faithful love. ^ad
22 For I am afflicted and needy; ^ae
my heart is wounded within me. ^af
23 I fade away like a lengthening shadow; ^ag
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak from fasting,
and my body is emaciated. ^{▼▼Lit denied from fat
,} ^ai
25 I have become an object of ridicule to my accusers; ^{▼▼Lit to them}
when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn. ^ak

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