[1] O God of my praise, be not silent.
[2] For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me; they speak against me with lying tongues.
[3] They surround me with hateful words and attack me without cause.
[4] In return for my love they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.
[5] They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
[6] Set over him a wicked man; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
[7] When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayer be regarded as sin.
[8] May his days be few; may another take his position.
[9] May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.
[10] May his children wander as beggars, seeking sustenance far from their ruined homes.
[11] May the creditor seize all he owns, and strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
[12] May there be no one to extend kindness to him, and no one to favor his fatherless children.
[13] May his descendants be cut off; may their name be blotted out from the next generation.
[14] May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, and the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
[15] May their sins always remain before the LORD, that He may cut off their memory from the earth.
[16] For he never thought to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and brokenhearted, even to their death.
[17] The cursing that he loved, may it fall on him; the blessing in which he refused to delight, may it be far from him.
[18] The cursing that he wore like a coat, may it soak into his body like water, and into his bones like oil.
[19] May it be like a robe wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around him.
[20] May this be the LORD’s reward to my accusers, to those who speak evil against me.
[21] But You, O GOD, the Lord, deal kindly with me for the sake of Your name; deliver me by the goodness of Your loving devotion.
[22] For I am poor and needy; my heart is wounded within me.
[23] I am fading away like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust.
[24] My knees are weak from fasting, and my body grows lean and gaunt.
[25] I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads.
[26] Help me, O LORD my God; save me according to Your loving devotion.
[27] Let them know that this is Your hand, that You, O LORD, have done it.
[28] Though they curse, You will bless. When they rise up, they will be put to shame, but Your servant will rejoice.
[29] May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may they wear their shame like a robe.
[30] With my mouth I will thank the LORD profusely; I will praise Him in the presence of many.
[31] For He stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from the condemners of his soul.