American Standard Version ASV
New International Version NIV
1 Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;
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My God, whom I praise, do not remain silent,
2 For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit have they opened against me: They have spoken unto me with a lying tongue.
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for people who are wicked and deceitful have opened their mouths against me; they have spoken against me with lying tongues.
3 They have compassed me about also with words of hatred, And fought against me without a cause.
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With words of hatred they surround me; they attack me without cause.
4 For my love they are my adversaries: But I [give myself unto] prayer.
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In return for my friendship they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.
5 And they have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love.
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They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my friendship.
6 Set thou a wicked man over him; And let an adversary stand at his right hand.
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Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, let him come forth guilty; And let his prayer be turned into sin.
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When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayers condemn him.
8 Let his days be few; [And] let another take his office.
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May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership.
9 Let his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow.
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May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.
10 Let his children be vagabonds, and beg; And let them seek [their bread] out of their desolate places.
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May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes.
11 Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; And let strangers make spoil of his labor.
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May a creditor seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
12 Let there be none to extend kindness unto him; Neither let there be any to have pity on his fatherless children.
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May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children.
13 Let his posterity be cut off; In the generation following let their name be blotted out.
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May his descendants be cut off, their names blotted out from the next generation.
14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with Jehovah; And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
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May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD; may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
15 Let them be before Jehovah continually, That he may cut off the memory of them from the earth;
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May their sins always remain before the LORD, that he may blot out their name from the earth.
16 Because he remembered not to show kindness, But persecuted the poor and needy man, And the broken in heart, to slay [them].
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For he never thought of doing a kindness, but hounded to death the poor and the needy and the brokenhearted.
17 Yea, he loved cursing, and it came unto him; And he delighted not in blessing, and it was far from him.
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He loved to pronounce a curse— may it come back on him. He found no pleasure in blessing— may it be far from him.
18 He clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment, And it came into his inward parts like water, And like oil into his bones.
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He wore cursing as his garment; it entered into his body like water, into his bones like oil.
19 Let it be unto him as the raiment wherewith he covereth himself, And for the girdle wherewith he is girded continually.
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May it be like a cloak wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around him.
20 This is the reward of mine adversaries from Jehovah, And of them that speak evil against my soul.
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May this be the LORD’s payment to my accusers, to those who speak evil of me.
21 But deal thou with me, O Jehovah the Lord, for thy name's sake: Because thy lovingkindness is good, deliver thou me;
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But you, Sovereign LORD, help me for your name’s sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.
22 For I am poor and needy, And my heart is wounded within me.
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For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.
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I fade away like an evening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting; And my flesh faileth of fatness.
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My knees give way from fasting; my body is thin and gaunt.
25 I am become also a reproach unto them: When they see me, they shake their head.
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I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads.
26 Help me, O Jehovah my God; Oh save me according to thy lovingkindness:
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Help me, LORD my God; save me according to your unfailing love.
27 That they may know that this is thy hand; [That] thou, Jehovah, hast done it.
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Let them know that it is your hand, that you, LORD, have done it.
28 Let them curse, but bless thou: When they arise, they shall be put to shame, But thy servant shall rejoice.
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While they curse, may you bless; may those who attack me be put to shame, but may your servant rejoice.
29 Let mine adversaries be clothed with dishonor, And let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
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May my accusers be clothed with disgrace and wrapped in shame as in a cloak.
30 I will give great thanks unto Jehovah with my mouth; Yea, I will praise him among the multitude.
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With my mouth I will greatly extol the LORD; in the great throng of worshipers I will praise him.
31 For he will stand at the right hand of the needy, To save him from them that judge his soul.
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For he stands at the right hand of the needy, to save their lives from those who would condemn them.
The American Standard Version is in the public domain.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.