Psalm 109

Common English Bible

⁶ “Appoint a wicked person to be against this person,” they say,
    “an accuser to stand right next to him.
⁷ When the sentence is passed, let him be found guilty—
    let his prayer be found sinful!
⁸ Let his days be few;
    let someone else assume his position.
⁹ Let his children become orphans;
    let his wife turn into a widow.
¹⁰ Let his children wander aimlessly, begging,
    driven out of their ruined homes.
¹¹ Let a creditor seize everything he owns;
    let strangers plunder his wealth.
¹² Let no one extend faithful love to him;
    let no one have mercy on his orphans.
¹³ Let his descendants be eliminated;
    let their names be wiped out in just one generation!
¹⁴ Let his father’s wrongdoing be remembered before the Lord;
    let his mother’s sin never be wiped out.
¹⁵ Let them be before the Lord always,
    and let God eliminate the very memory of them from the land.
¹⁶ All because this person didn’t remember to demonstrate faithful love,
    but chased after the poor and needy—
    even the brokenhearted—with deadly intent!
¹⁷ Since he loved to curse,
    let it come back on him!
Since he didn’t care much for blessing,
    let it be far away from him!
¹⁸ Since he wore curses like a coat,
    let them seep inside him like water,
    seep into his bones like oil!
¹⁹ Let them be like the clothes he wears,
    like a belt that is always around him.”

²⁰ But let all that be the reward my accusers get from the Lord,
    the reward for those who speak evil against me!
²¹ But you, Lord, my Lord!—
    act on my behalf for the sake of your name;
    deliver me because your faithful love is so good;
²²     because I am poor and needy,
    and my heart is broken.
²³ Like a lengthening shadow, I’m passing away;
    I’m shaken off, like some locust.
²⁴ My legs are weak from fasting;
    my body is skin and bones.
²⁵ I’ve become a joke to my accusers;
    when they see me, they just shake their heads.

²⁶ Help me, Lord my God!
    Save me according to your faithful love!
²⁷ And let them know that this is by your hand—
    that you have done it, Lord!
²⁸ Let them curse—but you, bless me!
    If they rise up, let them be disgraced,
        but let your servant celebrate!
²⁹ Let my accusers be dressed in shame;
    let them wear their disgrace like a coat.
³⁰ But I will give great thanks to the Lord with my mouth;
    among a great crowd I will praise God!
³¹ Because God stands right next to the needy,
    to save them from any who would condemn them.