Psalm 109,31 | New International Reader’s Version

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 God, I praise you. Don’t remain silent. 2 Sinful people who lie and cheat have spoken against me. They have used their tongues to tell lies about me. 3 They gather all around me with their words of hatred. They attack me without any reason. 4 They bring charges against me, even though I love them and pray for them. 5 They pay me back with evil for the good things I do. They pay back my love with hatred. 6 Appoint an evil person to take my enemies to court. Let him stand at their right hand and bring charges against them. 7 When they are tried, let them be found guilty. May even their prayers judge them. 8 May their days be few. Let others take their places as leaders. 9 May their children’s fathers die. May their wives become widows. 10 May their children be driven from their destroyed homes. May they wander around like beggars. 11 May everything those people own be taken away to pay for what they owe. May strangers rob them of everything they’ve worked for. 12 May no one be kind to them or take pity on the children they leave behind. 13 May their family line come to an end. May their names be forgotten by those who live after them. 14 May the LORD remember the evil things their fathers have done. May he never erase the sins of their mothers. 15 May the LORD never forget their sins. Then he won’t let people remember the names of my enemies anymore. 16 They never thought about doing anything kind. Instead, they drove those who were poor and needy to their deaths. They did the same thing to those whose hearts were broken. 17 They loved to curse others. May their curses come back on them. They didn’t find any pleasure in giving anyone their blessing. May no blessing ever come to them. 18 They cursed others as easily as they put on clothes. Cursing was as natural to them as getting a drink of water or putting olive oil on their bodies. 19 May their curses cover them like coats. May their curses be wrapped around them like a belt for ever. 20 May that be the LORD’s way of paying back those who bring charges against me. May it happen to those who say evil things about me. 21 But LORD and King, help me so that you bring honour to yourself. Because your love is so good, save me. 22 I am poor and needy. My heart is wounded deep down inside me. 23 I fade away like an evening shadow. I’m like a locust that someone brushes off. 24 My knees are weak because I’ve gone without food. My body is very thin. 25 Those who bring charges against me laugh at me. When they see me, they shake their heads at me. 26 LORD my God, help me. Save me because of your faithful love. 27 LORD, let my enemies know that you yourself have saved me. You have done it with your own hand. 28 They may curse me. But may you bless me. May those who attack me be put to shame. But may I be filled with joy. 29 May those who bring charges against me be clothed with dishonour. May they be wrapped in shame as if it were a coat. 30 With my mouth I will continually praise the LORD. I will praise him when all his people gather for worship. 31 He stands ready to help those who need it. He saves them from those who are ready to sentence them to death.

English Standard Version

Help Me, O Lord My God

1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Be not silent, O God of 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, but I give myself to prayer.* 5 So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love. 6 Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand at his right hand. 7 When he is tried, let him come forth guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin! 8 May his days be few; may another take his office! 9 May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow! 10 May his children wander 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 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted 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 come* upon him! He did not delight in blessing; may it be far* from him! 18 He clothed himself with cursing as his coat; may it soak* 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 for your name’s sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me! 22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me. 23 I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust. 24 My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt, with no fat. 25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they wag their heads. 26 Help 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 clothed with dishonor; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak! 30 With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the throng. 31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

Psalm 109,31 | New International Reader’s Version English Standard Version

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

Help Me, O Lord My God