1 | Unto the end. A Psalm of David. |
2 | O God, do not be silent toward my praise, for the mouth of the sinner and the mouth of the deceitful one have been opened against me. |
3 | They have spoken against me with deceitful tongues, and they have surrounded me with hateful words, and they fought against me over nothing. |
4 | Instead of choosing to act on my behalf, they detracted me. But I gave myself to prayer. |
5 | And they set evil against me, instead of good, and hatred, in return for my love. |
6 | Establish the sinner over him, and let the devil stand at his right hand. |
7 | When he is judged, may he go forth in condemnation, and may his prayer be counted as sin. |
8 | May his days be few, and let another take his episcopate. |
9 | May his sons be orphans, and his wife a widow. |
10 | May his sons be carried by those who walk unsteadily, and may they go begging. And may they be cast out of their dwelling places. |
11 | May the money lenders scrutinize all his belongings, and let foreigners plunder his labors. |
12 | May there be no one to assist him, nor anyone to be compassionate to his orphaned children. |
13 | May his posterity be in utter ruin. In one generation, may his name be wiped away. |
14 | May the iniquity of his fathers return in memory before the sight of the Lord, and do not let the sin of his mother be wiped away. |
15 | May these be opposite the Lord always, but let their memory perish from the earth. |
16 | For certain things are not remembered about them, in order to be merciful. |
17 | And so the destitute man was pursued, with the beggar and the remorseful in heart, so as to be put to death. |
18 | And he loved a curse, and it came to him. And he was unwilling to have a blessing, and it went far from him. And he clothed himself with curses like a garment, and it entered his inner self like water, and it entered his bones like oil. |
19 | May it be to him like a garment that covers him, and like a belt that always cinches him. |
20 | This is the work of those who detract me with the Lord and who speak evils against my soul. |
21 | But as for you, Lord, O Lord: act on my behalf for your name's sake. For your mercy is sweet. |
22 | Free me, for I am destitute and poor, and my heart has been disquieted within me. |
23 | I have been taken away like a shadow when it declines, and I have been shaken off like locusts. |
24 | My knees have been weakened by fasting, and my flesh has been replaced by oil. |
25 | And I have become a disgrace to them. They saw me, and they shook their heads. |
26 | Help me, O Lord, my God. Save me according to your mercy. |
27 | And let them know that this is your hand, and that you, O Lord, have done this. |
28 | They will curse, and you will bless. May those who rise up against me be confounded. But your servant will rejoice. |
29 | May those who detract me be clothed with shame, and may they be covered with their confusion, as if with a double cloak. |
30 | I will confess exceedingly to the Lord with my mouth. And I will praise him in the midst of the multitude. |
31 | For he stands at the right hand of the poor, in order to save my soul from persecutors. |