1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
O God of my praise,
be not silent.
1For the one directing. A Psalm of David. O God of my praise, do not be silent!
2For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me;
they speak against me with lying tongues.
2For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful, they have opened against me—they speak against me with a tongue of lies;
3They surround me with hateful words
and attack me without cause.
3and with words of hatred they surround me, and they fight me without cause.
4In return for my love they accuse me,
but I am a man of prayer.
4In exchange for my love they accuse me, and I am of prayer;
5They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.
5and they set against me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6Set over him a wicked man;
let an accuser stand at his right hand.
6Appoint a wicked man over him, and let an adversary stand at his right hand.
7When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
and may his prayer be regarded as sin.
7In his being judged, may he go forth as wicked, and let his prayer come to be as sin.
8May his days be few;
may another take his position.a
8May his days be few; may another take his position!
9May his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.
9May his sons be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
10May his children wander as beggars,
seeking sustenancea far from their ruined homes.
10And let his sons wander continually and beg, and let them seek sustenance from their desolate places!
11May the creditor seize all he owns,
and strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
11Let the creditor lay a snare for all that is unto him, and let strangers plunder his labour.
12May there be no one to extend kindness to him,
and no one to favor his fatherless children.
12None shall there be for him extending kindness, and none shall there be showing favor to his fatherless.
13May his descendants be cut off;
may their name be blotted out from the next generation.
13Let his posterity be for cutting off; in the next generation let their name be blotted out!
14May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD,
and the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
14May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered to YHWH, and the sin of his mother not be blotted out.
15May their sins always remain before the LORD,
that He may cut off their memory from the earth.
15Let them be before YHWH continually, that He may cut off from the earth their memory!
16For he never thought to show kindness,
but pursued the poor and needy and brokenhearted,
even to their death.
16Because that he has not remembered to do kindness, and he pursued the poor and needy man, and the broken of heart to kill him.
17The cursing that he loved,
may it fall on him;
the blessing in which he refused to delight,
may it be far from him.
17And he loved cursing, and let it come to him; and he did not delight in blessing, and let it be far from him!
18The cursing that he wore like a coat,
may it soak into his body like water,
and into his bones like oil.
18And he clothed himself with cursing as his garment, and it came in like the water within him, and like the oil into his bones!
19May it be like a robe wrapped about him,
like a belt tied forever around him.
19May it be for him like the garment wrapped about him, and continually as a belt he girds on.
20May this be the LORD’s reward to my accusers,
to those who speak evil against me.
20May this be the reward of my accusers from YHWH, and of those speaking evil against my soul!
21But You, O GOD, the Lord,
deal kindly with me for the sake of Your name;
deliver me by the goodness of Your loving devotion.
21But You, O YHWH my Lord, may you act with me for the sake of Your name; because of the goodness of Your loving devotion, deliver me!
22For I am poor and needy;
my heart is wounded within me.
22For I am poor and needy, and my heart is pierced within me.
23I am fading away like a lengthening shadow;
I am shaken off like a locust.
23Like a shadow in its lengthening, I am gone; I am shaken off like the locust.
24My knees are weak from fasting,
and my body grows lean and gaunt.
24My knees wobble from fasting, and my flesh has failed of fatness.
25I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they shake their heads.
25And I have become an object of scorn for them; they see me; they shake their head.
26Help me, O LORD my God;
save me according to Your loving devotion.
26Help me, O YHWH my God; save me according to Your loving devotion,
27Let them know that this is Your hand,
that You, O LORD, have done it.
27that they may know that this is Your hand; You, O YHWH, have done it!
28Though they curse, You will bless.
When they rise up, they will be put to shame,
but Your servant will rejoice.
28They may curse, but You will bless; may they rise up, and be put to shame, and may Your servant rejoice!
29May my accusers be clothed with disgrace;
may they wear their shame like a robe.
29May my accusers be clothed with disgrace, and may they be covered with their shame as the robe.
30With my mouth I will thank the LORD profusely;
I will praise Him in the presence of many.
30I will confess YHWH greatly with my mouth, and in the midst of the multitudes I will praise Him.
31For He stands at the right hand of the needy one,
to save him from the condemners of his soul.
31For He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those judging his soul.