English Standard Version ESV
New International Version NIV
1 Be not silent, O God of my praise!
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My God, whom I praise, do not remain silent,
2 For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues.
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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 encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause.
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With words of hatred they surround me; they attack me without cause.
4 In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer.
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In return for my friendship they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.
5 So they reward 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 Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser 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 tried, let him come forth guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin!
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When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayers condemn him.
8 May his days be few; may another take his office!
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May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership.
9 May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow!
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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!
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May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes.
11 May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
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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 to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children!
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May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children.
13 May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation!
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May his descendants be cut off, their names blotted out from the next generation.
14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, 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 the LORD 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 For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
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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 He loved to curse; let curses come upon him! He did not delight in blessing; may it be 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 with cursing as his coat; may it soak into his body like water, 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 May it be like a garment that he wraps around him, like a belt that he puts on every day!
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May it be like a cloak wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around him.
20 May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD, of those who speak evil against my life!
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May this be the LORD’s payment to my accusers, to those who speak evil of me.
21 But you, O GOD my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name's sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver 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 stricken within me.
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For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a 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; my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
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My knees give way from fasting; my body is thin and gaunt.
25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they wag their heads.
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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 LORD my God! Save me according to your steadfast love!
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Help me, LORD my God; save me according to your unfailing love.
27 Let them know that this is your hand; you, O LORD, have 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 you will bless! They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
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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 May my accusers be clothed with dishonor; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!
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May my accusers be clothed with disgrace and wrapped in 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.
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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 stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.
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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 English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
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.