Psalm 109

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

¹O God, whom I praise,

don’t stand silent and aloof

²while the wicked slander me

and tell lies about me.

³They surround me with hateful words

and fight against me for no reason.

⁴I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations

even as I am praying for them!

⁵They repay evil for good,

and hatred for my love.

⁶They say,^a “Get an evil person to turn against him.

Send an accuser to bring him to trial.

⁷When his case comes up for judgment,

let him be pronounced guilty.

Count his prayers as sins.

⁸Let his years be few;

let someone else take his position.

⁹May his children become fatherless,

and his wife a widow.

¹⁰May his children wander as beggars

and be driven from^b their ruined homes.

¹¹May creditors seize his entire estate,

and strangers take all he has earned.

¹²Let no one be kind to him;

let no one pity his fatherless children.

¹³May all his offspring die.

May his family name be blotted out in the next generation.

¹⁴May the Lord never forget the sins of his fathers;

may his mother’s sins never be erased from the record.

¹⁵May the Lord always remember these sins,

and may his name disappear from human memory.

¹⁶For he refused all kindness to others;

he persecuted the poor and needy,

and he hounded the brokenhearted to death.

¹⁷He loved to curse others;

now you curse him.

He never blessed others;

now don’t you bless him.

¹⁸Cursing is as natural to him as his clothing,

or the water he drinks,

or the rich food he eats.

¹⁹Now may his curses return and cling to him like clothing;

may they be tied around him like a belt.”

²⁰May those curses become the Lord’s punishment

for my accusers who speak evil of me.

²¹But deal well with me, O Sovereign Lord,

for the sake of your own reputation!

Rescue me

because you are so faithful and good.

²²For I am poor and needy,

and my heart is full of pain.

²³I am fading like a shadow at dusk;

I am brushed off like a locust.

²⁴My knees are weak from fasting,

and I am skin and bones.

²⁵I am a joke to people everywhere;

when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn.

²⁶Help me, O Lord my God!

Save me because of your unfailing love.

²⁷Let them see that this is your doing,

that you yourself have done it, Lord.

²⁸Then let them curse me if they like,

but you will bless me!

When they attack me, they will be disgraced!

But I, your servant, will go right on rejoicing!

²⁹May my accusers be clothed with disgrace;

may their humiliation cover them like a cloak.

³⁰But I will give repeated thanks to the Lord,

praising him to everyone.

³¹For he stands beside the needy,

ready to save them from those who condemn them.