1  Be not ^tsilent, O God ^uof my praise!

2  For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,

speaking against me with lying tongues.

3  They encircle me with words of hate,

and attack me without cause.

4  In return for my love they accuse me,

^vbut I give myself to prayer.¹

5  So they ^wreward me evil for good,

and hatred for my love.

6  Appoint a wicked man against him;

let an accuser stand ^xat his right hand.

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

let his ^yprayer be counted as sin!

8  May his days be few;

^zmay another take his office!

9  ^aMay his children be fatherless

and his wife a widow!

10  May his children ^bwander about and beg,

seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!

11  May the creditor seize all that he has;

may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!

12  Let there be none to extend kindness to him,

nor any to pity his fatherless children!

13  May his posterity be cut off;

may his name be blotted out in the second generation!

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

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

15  Let them be before the Lord continually,

that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!

16  For he did not remember to show kindness,

but pursued the poor and needy

and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.

17  He loved to curse; let curses come² upon him!

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

18  He clothed himself with cursing ^eas his coat;

may it soak⁴ 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 accusers from the Lord,

of those who speak evil against my life!

21  But you, O God my Lord,

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

^gbecause your steadfast love is good, deliver me!

22  ^hFor I am poor and needy,

and my heart is stricken within me.

23  I am gone like a ⁱshadow at evening;

I am shaken off like a locust.

24  My knees are weak through ^jfasting;

my body has become ^kgaunt, with no fat.

25  I am an object of scorn to my accusers;

when they see me, they ^lwag their heads.

26  ^mHelp me, O Lord my God!

Save me according to your steadfast love!

27  Let them know that this is your hand;

you, O Lord, have done it!

28  Let them curse, but you will bless!

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

29  May my accusers be ⁿclothed with dishonor;

may they be ^owrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!

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

I will praise him in the midst of the throng.

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

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