New Living Translation

English Standard Version

1O God, whom I praise, don’t stand silent and aloof

1Be not silent, O God of my praise!

2while the wicked slander me and tell lies about me.

2For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues.

3They surround me with hateful words and fight against me for no reason.

3They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause.

4I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations even as I am praying for them!

4In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer.

5They repay evil for good, and hatred for my love.

5So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

6They say, “Get an evil person to turn against him. Send an accuser to bring him to trial.

6Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand at his right hand.

7When his case comes up for judgment, let him be pronounced guilty. Count his prayers as sins.

7When he is tried, let him come forth guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin!

8Let his years be few; let someone else take his position.

8May his days be few; may another take his office!

9May his children become fatherless, and his wife a widow.

9May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow!

10May his children wander as beggars and be driven from their ruined homes.

10May his children wander about and beg, seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!

11May creditors seize his entire estate, and strangers take all he has earned.

11May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!

12Let no one be kind to him; let no one pity his fatherless children.

12Let there be none to extend kindness to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children!

13May all his offspring die. May his family name be blotted out in the next generation.

13May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation!

14May the LORD never forget the sins of his fathers; may his mother’s sins never be erased from the record.

14May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!

15May the LORD always remember these sins, and may his name disappear from human memory.

15Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!

16For he refused all kindness to others; he persecuted the poor and needy, and he hounded the brokenhearted to death.

16For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.

17He loved to curse others; now you curse him. He never blessed others; now don’t you bless him.

17He loved to curse; let curses come upon him! He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!

18Cursing is as natural to him as his clothing, or the water he drinks, or the rich food he eats.

18He clothed himself with cursing as his coat; may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones!

19Now may his curses return and cling to him like clothing; may they be tied around him like a belt.”

19May it be like a garment that he wraps around him, like a belt that he puts on every day!

20May those curses become the LORD’s punishment for my accusers who speak evil of me.

20May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD, of those who speak evil against my life!

21But deal well with me, O Sovereign LORD, for the sake of your own reputation! Rescue me because you are so faithful and good.

21But you, O GOD my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name’s sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!

22For I am poor and needy, and my heart is full of pain.

22For I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me.

23I am fading like a shadow at dusk; I am brushed off like a locust.

23I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust.

24My knees are weak from fasting, and I am skin and bones.

24My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt, with no fat.

25I am a joke to people everywhere; when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn.

25I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they wag their heads.

26Help me, O LORD my God! Save me because of your unfailing love.

26Help me, O LORD my God! Save me according to your steadfast love!

27Let them see that this is your doing, that you yourself have done it, LORD.

27Let them know that this is your hand; you, O LORD, have done it!

28Then 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!

28Let them curse, but you will bless! They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!

29May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may their humiliation cover them like a cloak.

29May my accusers be clothed with dishonor; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!

30But I will give repeated thanks to the LORD, praising him to everyone.

30With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD; I will praise him in the midst of the throng.

31For he stands beside the needy, ready to save them from those who condemn them.

31For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.