1091 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. Do not keep silent, O God of my praise! 2 For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful Have opened against me; They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. 3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And fought against me without a cause. 4 In return for my love they are my accusers, But I give myself to prayer. 5 Thus they have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love.
6 Set a wicked man over him, And let an accuser stand at his right hand. 7 When he is judged, let him be found guilty, And let his prayer become sin. 8 Let his days be few, And let another take his office. 9 Let his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow. 10 Let his children continually be vagabonds, and beg; Let them seek their bread also from their desolate places. 11 Let the creditor seize all that he has, And let strangers plunder his labor. 12 Let there be none to extend mercy to him, Nor let there be any to favor his fatherless children. 13 Let his posterity be cut off, And in the generation following let their name be blotted out. 14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord, And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. 15 Let them be continually before the Lord, That He may cut off the memory of them from the earth; 16 Because he did not remember to show mercy, But persecuted the poor and needy man, That he might even slay the broken in heart. 17 As he loved cursing, so let it come to him; As he did not delight in blessing, so let it be far from him. 18 As he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment, So let it enter his body like water, And like oil into his bones. 19 Let it be to him like the garment which covers him, And for a belt with which he girds himself continually. 20 Let this be the Lord's reward to my accusers, And to those who speak evil against my person.
21 But You, O God the Lord, Deal with me for Your name's sake; Because Your mercy is good, deliver me. 22 For I am poor and needy, And my heart is wounded within me. 23 I am gone like a shadow when it lengthens; I am shaken off like a locust. 24 My knees are weak through fasting, And my flesh is feeble from lack of fatness. 25 I also have become a reproach to them; When they look at me, they shake their heads. 26 Help me, O Lord my God! Oh, save me according to Your mercy, 27 That they may know that this is Your hand-- That You, Lord, have done it! 28 Let them curse, but You bless; When they arise, let them be ashamed, But let Your servant rejoice. 29 Let my accusers be clothed with shame, And let them cover themselves with their own disgrace as with a mantle. 30 I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; Yes, I will praise Him among the multitude. 31 For He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, To save him from those who condemn him.
1091 O God of my praise, be not silent: 2 For the mouth of the wicked [man] and the mouth of deceit are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue, 3 And with words of hatred have they encompassed me; and they fight against me without a cause. 4 For my love they are mine adversaries; but I [give myself unto] prayer. 5 And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6 Set a wicked [man] over him, and let [the] adversary stand at his right hand; 7 When he shall be judged, let him go out guilty, and let his prayer become sin; 8 Let his days be few, let another take his office; 9 Let his sons be fatherless, and his wife a widow; 10 Let his sons be vagabonds and beg, and let them seek [their bread] far from their desolate places; 11 Let the usurer cast the net over all that he hath, and let strangers despoil his labour; 12 Let there be none to extend kindness unto him, neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children; 13 Let his posterity be cut off; in the generation following let their name be blotted out: 14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with Jehovah, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out; 15 Let them be before Jehovah continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth: 16 Because he remembered not to shew kindness, but persecuted the afflicted and needy man, and the broken in heart, to slay him. 17 And he loved cursing; so let it come unto him. And he delighted not in blessing; and let it be far from him. 18 And he clothed himself with cursing like his vestment; so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones; 19 Let it be unto him as a garment with which he covereth himself, and for a girdle wherewith he is constantly girded. 20 Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from Jehovah, and of them that speak evil against my soul.
21 But do thou for me, Jehovah, Lord, for thy name's sake; because thy loving-kindness is good, deliver me: 22 For I am afflicted and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. 23 I am gone like a shadow when it lengtheneth; I am tossed about like the locust; 24 My knees are failing through fasting, and my flesh hath lost its fatness; 25 And I am become a reproach unto them; [when] they look upon me they shake their heads. 26 Help me, Jehovah my God; save me according to thy loving-kindness: 27 That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, Jehovah, hast done it. 28 Let them curse, but bless thou; when they rise up, let them be ashamed, and let thy servant rejoice. 29 Let mine adversaries be clothed with confusion, and let them cover themselves with their shame as with a mantle. 30 I will greatly celebrate Jehovah with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude. 31 For he standeth at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those that judge his soul.
1091 OÂ God, whom I praise, don't stand silent and aloof 2 while the wicked slander me and tell lies about me. 3 They surround me with hateful words and fight against me for no reason. 4 I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations even as I am praying for them! 5 They repay evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6 They say, "Get an evil person to turn against him. Send an accuser to bring him to trial. 7 When his case comes up for judgment, let him be pronounced guilty. Count his prayers as sins. 8 Let his years be few; let someone else take his position. 9 May his children become fatherless, and his wife a widow. 10 May his children wander as beggars and be driven from their ruined homes. 11 May creditors seize his entire estate, and strangers take all he has earned. 12 Let no one be kind to him; let no one pity his fatherless children. 13 May all his offspring die. May his family name be blotted out in the next generation. 14 May the Lord never forget the sins of his fathers; may his mother's sins never be erased from the record. 15 May the Lord always remember these sins, and may his name disappear from human memory. 16 For he refused all kindness to others; he persecuted the poor and needy, and he hounded the brokenhearted to death. 17 He loved to curse others; now you curse him. He never blessed others; now don't you bless him. 18 Cursing is as natural to him as his clothing, or the water he drinks, or the rich food he eats. 19 Now may his curses return and cling to him like clothing; may they be tied around him like a belt." 20 May those curses become the Lord 's punishment for my accusers who speak evil of me.
21 But deal well with me, OÂ Sovereign Lord, for the sake of your own reputation! Rescue me because you are so faithful and good. 22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is full of pain. 23 I am fading like a shadow at dusk; I am brushed off like a locust. 24 My knees are weak from fasting, and I am skin and bones. 25 I am a joke to people everywhere; when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn. 26 Help me, O Lord my God! Save me because of your unfailing love. 27 Let them see that this is your doing, that you yourself have done it, Lord . 28 Then 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! 29 May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may their humiliation cover them like a cloak. 30 But I will give repeated thanks to the Lord, praising him to everyone. 31 For he stands beside the needy, ready to save them from those who condemn them.
