Psalms

¹God of my praise, don’t remain silent, ²for they have opened the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit against me. They have spoken to me with a lying tongue. ³They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause. ⁴In return for my love, they are my adversaries; but I am in prayer. ⁵They have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. ⁶Set a wicked man over him. Let an adversary stand at his right hand. ⁷When he is judged, let him come out guilty. Let his prayer be turned into sin. ⁸Let his days be few. Let another take his office. ⁹Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. ¹⁰Let his children be wandering beggars. Let them be sought from their ruins. ¹¹Let the creditor seize all that he has. Let strangers plunder the fruit of his labor. ¹²Let there be no one to extend kindness to him, neither let there be anyone to have pity on his fatherless children. ¹³Let his posterity be cut off. In the generation following let their name be blotted out. ¹⁴Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by the LORD. Don’t let the sin of his mother be blotted out. ¹⁵Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off their memory from the earth; ¹⁶because he didn’t remember to show kindness, but persecuted the poor and needy man, the broken in heart, to kill them. ¹⁷Yes, he loved cursing, and it came to him. He didn’t delight in blessing, and it was far from him. ¹⁸He clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment. It came into his inward parts like water, like oil into his bones. ¹⁹Let it be to him as the clothing with which he covers himself, for the belt that is always around him. ²⁰This is the reward of my adversaries from the LORD, of those who speak evil against my soul. ²¹But deal with me, GOD the Lord, for your name’s sake, because your loving kindness is good, deliver me; ²²for I am poor and needy. My heart is wounded within me. ²³I fade away like an evening shadow. I am shaken off like a locust. ²⁴My knees are weak through fasting. My body is thin and lacks fat. ²⁵I have also become a reproach to them. When they see me, they shake their head. ²⁶Help me, LORD, my God. Save me according to your loving kindness; ²⁷that they may know that this is your hand; that you, LORD, have done it. ²⁸They may curse, but you bless. When they arise, they will be shamed, but your servant shall rejoice. ²⁹Let my adversaries be clothed with dishonor. Let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe. ³⁰I will give great thanks to the LORD with my mouth. Yes, I will praise him among the multitude. ³¹For he will stand at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who judge his soul.