| 109 | Psalms | ||
| 1 | O God of my praise, be silent no longer, | ← A Psalm of Anathema. Psalm 109(v108) | |
| 2 | for wicked men heap calumnies upon me. They have lied to my face | ||
| 3 | and ringed me round with words of hate. They have attacked me without a cause | ||
| 4 | and accused me though I have done nothing unseemly . | ||
| 5 | They have repaid me evil for good and hatred in return for my love. | ||
| 6 | They say, 'Put up some rascal to denounce him, an accuser to stand at his right side.' | ||
| 7 | But when judgement is given, that rascal will be exposed and his follies accounted a sin. | ||
| 8 | May his days be few; may his hoarded wealth fall to another! | ||
| 9 | May his children be fatherless, his wife a widow! | ||
| 10 | May his children be vagabonds and beggars, driven from their homes! | ||
| 11 | May the money-lender distrain on all his goods and strangers seize his earnings! | ||
| 12 | May none remain loyal to him, and none have mercy on his fatherless children! | ||
| 13 | May his line be doomed to extinction, may their name be wiped out within a generation! | ||
| 14 | May the sins of his forefathers be remembered and his mother's wickedness never be wiped out! | ||
| 15 | May they remain on record before the LORD, but may he extinguish their name from the earth! | ||
| 16 | For that man never set himself to be loyal to his friend but persecuted the downtrodden and the poor and hounded the broken-hearted to their death. | ||
| 17 | Curses he loved: may the curse fall on him! He took no pleasure in blessing: may no blessing be his! | ||
| 18 | He clothed himself in cursing like a garment: may it seep into his body like water and into his bones like oil! | ||
| 19 | May it wrap him round like the clothes he puts on, like the belt which he wears every day! | ||
| 20 | May the LORD so requite my accusers and those who speak evil against me! | ||
| 21 | But thou, O LORD God, deal with me as befits thy honour; in the goodness of thy unfailing love deliver me, | ||
| 22 | for I am downtrodden and poor, and my heart within me is distracted. | ||
| 23 | I fade like a passing shadow, I am shaken off like a locust. | ||
| 24 | My knees are weak with fasting and my flesh wastes away, so meagre is my fare. | ||
| 25 | I have become the victim of their taunts; when they see me they toss their heads. | ||
| 26 | Help me, O LORD my God; save me, by thy unfailing love, | ||
| 27 | that men may know this is thy doing and thou alone, O LORD, hast done it. | ||
| 28 | They may curse, but thou dost bless; may my opponents be put to shame, but may thy servant rejoice! | ||
| 29 | May my accusers be clothed with dishonour, wrapped in their shame as in a cloak! | ||
| 30 | I will lift up my voice to extol the LORD, and before a great company I will praise him. | ||
| 31 | For he stands at the poor man's right side to save him from his adversaries . | ||
| << | Ps:109 | >> | |||
|---|---|---|---|