Psalms 109

Help Me, O  Lord My God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1  a Be not silent, O b God of my praise!
 2 For wicked and c deceitful mouths are opened against me,
speaking against me with lying tongues.
 3 They encircle me with words of hate,
and attack me d without cause.
 4 In return for my love they e accuse me,
but I f give myself to prayer. ▼
▼ Hebrew  but I am prayer

 5 So they h reward me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.
 6  i Appoint a wicked man j against him;
let an accuser stand k at his right hand.
 7 When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;
let his l prayer be counted as sin!
 8 May his m days be few;
may n another take his o office!
 9 May his p children be fatherless
and his wife a widow!
 10 May his children q wander about and beg,
r seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
 11 May s the creditor seize all that he has;
may t strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
 12 Let there be none to u extend kindness to him,
nor any to v pity his fatherless children!
 13 May his w posterity be cut off;
may his x name be blotted out in the second generation!
 14 May y the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the  Lord,
and let not the sin of his mother be z blotted out!
 15  aa Let them be before the  Lord continually,
that he may ab cut off the memory of them from the earth!
 16  For he did not remember to show kindness,
but pursued ac the poor and needy
and ad the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
 17  ae He loved to curse; let curses come ▼
▼ Revocalization; Masoretic Text curses have come
 upon him!
He did not delight in blessing; may it be far ▼
▼ Revocalization; Masoretic Text it is far
 from him!
 18 He ah clothed himself with cursing as his coat;
may it ai soak ▼
▼ Revocalization; Masoretic Text it has soaked
 into his body like water,
like oil into his bones!
 19 May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,
like a belt that he puts on every day!
 20 May this be the reward of my ak accusers from the  Lord,
of those who speak evil against my life!
 21  But you, O  God my Lord,
deal on my behalf al for your name’s sake;
because your am steadfast love is good, deliver me!
 22 For I am an poor and needy,
and my heart is stricken within me.
 23 I am gone like ao a shadow at evening;
I am ap shaken off like a locust.
 24 My knees are weak aq through fasting;
my ar body has become gaunt, with no fat.
 25 I am as an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they at wag their heads.
 26  au Help me, O  Lord my God!
Save me according to your steadfast love!
 27 Let them av know that this is your hand;
you, O  Lord, have done it!
 28  aw Let them curse, but you will bless!
They arise and are put to shame, but ax your servant will be glad!
 29 May my accusers be ay clothed with dishonor;
may they az be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!
 30  With my mouth I will give great thanks to the  Lord;
I will ba praise him in the midst of the throng.
 31 For he stands bb at the right hand of the needy one,
to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.
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