To the Chief Musician. David’s. A Melody.

¹ O God of my praise, do not be silent;

² For, the mouth of the lawless one and the mouth of the deceiver, against me, are open, They have spoken to me with false tongue;

³ And, with words of hatred, have they surrounded me, and have made war upon me without cause:

⁴ For my love, they have been accusing me, while, I, was at prayer:

⁵ Yea they have returned unto me—Evil for good; and, Hatred for my love.

⁶ Set in charge over him, one who is lawless, and let, an accuser, stand at his right hand;

⁷ When he is judged, let him go out condemned, and let, his own petition, become a sin;

⁸ Let his days become few, his overseership, let another take;

⁹ Let his children become fatherless, and his wife a widow;

¹⁰ Let his children, wander about, and beg, Let them be driven out of their ruins;

¹¹ Let the creditor take aim at all that he hath, and let strangers prey on the fruit of his toil;

¹² Let him have no one to continue lovingkindness, and there be none to favour his fatherless children;

¹³ Let his posterity be for cutting off, In another generation, let their name be wiped out;

¹⁴ Remembered be the iniquity of his fathers against Yahweh, and, the sin of his mother, let it not be wiped out;

¹⁵ Let them be before Yahweh continually, and let the memory of them, be cut off out of the earth.

¹⁶ Because that he remembered not to show lovingkindness, but pursued the man that was oppressed and needy, that, the downhearted, he might slay.

¹⁷ Because he loved cursing, May it have come upon him, Because he delighted not in blessing, May it have kept far from him;

¹⁸ Because he clothed himself in cursing as his outer garment, therefore may it have entered like water into his inward part, and like oil into his bones;

¹⁹ Be it his, as a garment he shall wrap round him, and for a girdle he shall, at all times, gird on:

²⁰ This, be the reward of mine accusers, from Yahweh, even of them who are speaking wrongfully against my life.

²¹ But, thou, Yahweh, Adonay, deal effectually with me, for the sake of thy Name, Since good is thy lovingkindness, O rescue me;

²² For, oppressed and needy, I am, and, my heart, is wounded within me.

²³ As a shadow when it stretcheth out, I am gone, I am shaken off like the locust;

²⁴ My knees, tremble from fasting, and, my flesh, faileth of fatness:

²⁵ So, I, am become a reproach for them, They see me, they shake their head.

²⁶ Help me! O Yahweh my God, Save me, according to thy lovingkindness:

²⁷ That they may know that, Thine own hand, this is, Thou, Yahweh, hast done it.

²⁸ They, may curse if, thou, wilt bless,—Mine assailants, shall be ashamed, but, thy servant, shall rejoice;

²⁹ Mine accusers shall be clothed with confusion, and shall wrap about them, like a cloak, their own shame.

³⁰ I will thank Yahweh loudly with my mouth, Yea, in the midst of multitudes, will I praise him;

³¹ Because he standeth at the right hand of the needy, To save, from them who would pass sentence on his life.