Psalm

They speak about me with lying tongues;+

 3 They surround me with hateful words,

And they attack me without cause.+

 4 They resist me in response to my love;+

But I continue to pray.

 5 They repay me with bad for good+

And hatred for my love.+

 6 Appoint a wicked man over him;

May a resister* stand at his right hand.

 7 When he is judged, may he be found guilty;*

May even his prayer be counted as a sin.+

 8 Let his days be few;+

His office of oversight let someone else take.+

 9 Let his children* become fatherless,

And his wife, a widow.

10 May his children* become wandering beggars,

Foraging for food from their ruined homes.

11 May his creditor seize* all that he has,

And may strangers plunder his possessions.

12 May no one extend kindness* to him,

And may no one show favor to his fatherless children.

13 Let his descendants* be cut off;+

May their name be erased within a generation.

14 Let the error of his forefathers be remembered by Jehovah,+

And may the sin of his mother not be erased.

15 May Jehovah always be mindful of what they have done;

And may he cut off the memory of them from the earth.+

16 For he did not remember to show kindness,*+

But he kept pursuing the oppressed,+ poor, and brokenhearted man

To put him to death.+

17 He loved to pronounce a curse, so that is what came upon him;

He had no desire to bless, so he received no blessing.

And they were poured into his body like water,

Into his bones like oil.

19 May his curses be like the clothing in which he wraps himself+

And like a belt he always wears.

20 This is the payment from Jehovah for the one who resists me+

And for those who speak evil things against me.*

21 But you, Jehovah the Sovereign Lord,

Act in my behalf for the sake of your name.+

22 For I am helpless and poor,+

And my heart has been pierced within me.+

23 I am passing away like a fading shadow;

I have been shaken off like a locust.

24 My knees give way from fasting;

My body is thin, and I am wasting away.*

26 Help me, O Jehovah my God;

Save me by your loyal love.

27 May they know that this is by your hand;

That you, O Jehovah, have done it.

When they rise up against me, may they be put to shame,

But let your servant rejoice.

29 Let those who resist me be clothed with humiliation;

May they be wrapped in their shame as in a robe.*+

30 My mouth will fervently praise Jehovah;

I will praise him in front of many people.+

31 For he will stand at the right hand of the poor

To save him from those who condemn him.*