1  ^tBe not silent, O ^uGod of my praise!

2  For wicked and ^vdeceitful mouths are opened against me,

speaking against me with lying tongues.

3  They encircle me with words of hate,

and attack me ^wwithout cause.

4  In return for my love they ^xaccuse me,

but I ^ygive myself to prayer.¹

5  So they ^zreward me evil for good,

and hatred for my love.

6  ^aAppoint a wicked man ^bagainst him;

let an accuser stand ^cat his right hand.

7  When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;

let his ^dprayer be counted as sin!

8  May his ^edays be few;

may ^fanother take his ^goffice!

9  May his ^hchildren be fatherless

and his wife a widow!

10  May his children ⁱwander about and beg,

^jseeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!

11  May ^kthe creditor seize all that he has;

may ^kstrangers plunder the fruits of his toil!

12  Let there be none to ^lextend kindness to him,

nor any to ^mpity his fatherless children!

13  May his ⁿposterity be cut off;

may his ^oname be blotted out in the second generation!

14  May ^pthe iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord,

and let not the sin of his mother be ^qblotted out!

15  ^rLet them be before the Lord continually,

that he may ^scut off the memory of them from the earth!

16  For he did not remember to show kindness,

but pursued ^tthe poor and needy

and ^uthe brokenhearted, to put them to death.

17  ^vHe loved to curse; let curses come² upon him!

He did not delight in blessing; may it be far³ from him!

18  He ^wclothed himself with cursing as his coat;

may it ^xsoak⁴ into his body like water,

like oil into his bones!

19  May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,

like a belt that he puts on every day!

20  May this be the reward of my ^yaccusers from the Lord,

of those who speak evil against my life!

21  But you, O God my Lord,

deal on my behalf ^zfor your name’s sake;

because your ^asteadfast love is good, deliver me!

22  For I am ^bpoor and needy,

and my heart is stricken within me.

23  I am gone like ^ca shadow at evening;

I am ^dshaken off like a locust.

24  My knees are weak ^ethrough fasting;

my ^fbody has become gaunt, with no fat.

25  I am ^gan object of scorn to my accusers;

when they see me, they ^hwag their heads.

26  ⁱHelp me, O Lord my God!

Save me according to your steadfast love!

27  Let them ^jknow that this is your hand;

you, O Lord, have done it!

28  ^kLet them curse, but you will bless!

They arise and are put to shame, but ^lyour servant will be glad!

29  May my accusers be ^mclothed with dishonor;

may they ⁿbe wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!

30  With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord;

I will ^opraise him in the midst of the throng.

31  For he stands ^pat the right hand of the needy one,

to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

1  How the Lord in his anger

has set the daughter of Zion ^junder a cloud!

^kHe has cast down from heaven to earth

the splendor of Israel;

he has not remembered ^lhis footstool

in the day of his anger.

2  The Lord ^mhas swallowed up ⁿwithout mercy

all the habitations of Jacob;

in his wrath ^ohe has broken down

the strongholds of the daughter of Judah;

he has brought ^pdown to the ground ^pin dishonor

the kingdom ^qand its rulers.

3  He has cut down in ^rfierce anger

all ^sthe might of Israel;

^the has withdrawn from them his right hand

in the face of the enemy;

^uhe has burned like a flaming fire in Jacob,

consuming all around.

4  ^vHe has bent his bow like an enemy,

with his right hand set ^wlike a foe;

and he has killed all who were delightful in our eyes

in the tent of the daughter of Zion;

he has poured out his fury like fire.

5  ^wThe Lord has become like an enemy;

^xhe has swallowed up Israel;

^yhe has swallowed up all its palaces;

he has laid in ruins its strongholds,

and he has multiplied in the daughter of Judah

^zmourning and lamentation.

6  He has laid waste his booth like a garden,

laid in ruins ^ahis meeting place;

^athe Lord has made Zion forget

festival and ^bSabbath,

and in his fierce indignation has spurned king and priest.

7  ^cThe Lord has scorned his altar,

^ddisowned his sanctuary;

^ehe has delivered into the hand of the enemy

the walls of her palaces;

^fthey raised a clamor in the house of the Lord

as on the day of festival.

8  ^gThe Lord determined to lay in ruins

^hthe wall of the daughter of Zion;

ⁱhe stretched out the measuring line;

he did not restrain his hand from destroying;

^jhe caused rampart and wall to lament;

^jthey languished together.

9  Her gates have sunk into the ground;

^khe has ruined ^kand broken her bars;

^lher king and princes are among the nations;

the law is no more,

and ^mher prophets find

no vision from the Lord.

10  The elders of the daughter of Zion

ⁿsit on the ground ^oin silence;

^pthey have thrown dust on their heads

and ^qput on sackcloth;

the young women of Jerusalem

have bowed their heads to the ground.

11  ^rMy eyes are spent with weeping;

^smy stomach churns;

^tmy bile is poured out to the ground

^ubecause of the destruction of the daughter of my people,

^vbecause infants and babies ^wfaint

in the streets of the city.

12  They cry to their mothers,

^x“Where is bread and wine?”

^was they faint like a wounded man

in the streets of the city,

as their life is poured out

on their mothers’ bosom.

13  What can I say for you, ^yto what compare you,

O daughter of Jerusalem?

^yWhat can I liken to you, that I may comfort you,

O virgin daughter of Zion?

^zFor your ruin is vast as the sea;

who can heal you?

14  ^aYour prophets have seen for you

false and deceptive visions;

^bthey have not exposed your iniquity

to ^crestore your fortunes,

^dbut have seen for you ^eoracles

that are false and misleading.

15  All who pass along the way

clap their hands at you;

^fthey hiss and wag their heads

at the daughter of Jerusalem:

“Is this the city that was called

^gthe perfection of beauty,

^gthe joy of all the earth?”

16  ^hAll your enemies

rail against you;

they hiss, they gnash their teeth,

they cry: “We ⁱhave swallowed her!

Ah, this is the day we longed for;

now we have it; ^jwe see it!”

17  The Lord has done what he purposed;

he has carried out ^khis word,

which he commanded ^llong ago;

^mhe has thrown down ⁿwithout pity;

^ohe has made the enemy rejoice over you

and exalted the ^pmight of your foes.

18  Their heart cried to the Lord.

O ^qwall of the daughter of Zion,

^rlet tears stream down like a torrent

^sday and night!

^tGive yourself no rest,

^uyour eyes no respite!

19  “Arise, ^vcry out in the night,

at the beginning of the night watches!

^wPour out your heart like water

before the presence of the Lord!

^xLift your hands to him

for the lives of your children,

^ywho faint for hunger

at the head of every street.”

20  Look, O Lord, and see!

^zWith whom have you dealt thus?

^aShould women eat the fruit of their womb,

the children of ^btheir tender care?

Should ^cpriest and prophet be killed

in the sanctuary of the Lord?

21  In the dust of the streets

^dlie the young and the old;

^dmy young women and my young men

have fallen by the sword;

^eyou have killed them in the day of your anger,

slaughtering ^fwithout pity.

22  You summoned as if to ^ga festival day

^hmy terrors on every side,

ⁱand on the day of the anger of the Lord

no one escaped or survived;

^jthose whom I held and raised

my enemy destroyed.