Common English Bible CEB
English Standard Version ESV
1 God of my praise, don't keep quiet,
1
Be not silent, O God of my praise!
2 because the mouths of wicked liars have opened up against me, talking about me with lying tongues.
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For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues.
3 Hateful words surround me; they attack me for no reason.
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They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause.
4 Instead of returning my love, they accuse me— but I am at prayer.
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In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer.
5 They repay me evil for good, hatred in return for my love.
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So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6 "Appoint a wicked person to be against this person," they say, "an accuser to stand right next to him.
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Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When the sentence is passed, let him be found guilty— let his prayer be found sinful!
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When he is tried, let him come forth guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin!
8 Let his days be few; let someone else assume his position.
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May his days be few; may another take his office!
9 Let his children become orphans; let his wife turn into a widow.
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May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow!
10 Let his children wander aimlessly, begging, driven out of their ruined homes.
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May his children wander about and beg, seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
11 Let a creditor seize everything he owns; let strangers plunder his wealth.
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May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
12 Let no one extend faithful love to him; let no one have mercy on his orphans.
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Let there be none to extend kindness to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children!
13 Let his descendants be eliminated; let their names be wiped out in just one generation!
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May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation!
14 Let his father's wrongdoing be remembered before the LORD; let his mother's sin never be wiped out.
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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 always, and let God eliminate the very memory of them from the land.
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Let them be before the Lord continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!
16 All because this person didn't remember to demonstrate faithful love, but chased after the poor and needy— even the brokenhearted—with deadly intent!
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For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
17 Since he loved to curse, let it come back on him! Since he didn't care much for blessing, let it be far away from him!
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He loved to curse; let curses come upon him! He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!
18 Since he wore curses like a coat, let them seep inside him like water, seep into his bones like oil!
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He clothed himself with cursing as his coat; may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones!
19 Let them be like the clothes he wears, like a belt that is always around him."
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May it be like a garment that he wraps around him, like a belt that he puts on every day!
20 But let all that be the reward my accusers get from the LORD, the reward for those who speak evil against me!
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May this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord, of those who speak evil against my life!
21 But you, LORD, my Lord!— act on my behalf for the sake of your name; deliver me because your faithful love is so good;
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But you, O God my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name’s sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
22 because I am poor and needy, and my heart is broken.
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For I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me.
23 Like a lengthening shadow, I'm passing away; I'm shaken off, like some locust.
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I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My legs are weak from fasting; my body is skin and bones.
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My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
25 I've become a joke to my accusers; when they see me, they just shake their heads.
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I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they wag their heads.
26 Help me, LORD my God! Save me according to your faithful love!
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Help me, O Lord my God! Save me according to your steadfast love!
27 And let them know that this is by your hand— that you have done it, LORD!
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Let them know that this is your hand; you, O Lord, have done it!
28 Let them curse—but you, bless me! If they rise up, let them be disgraced, but let your servant celebrate!
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Let them curse, but you will bless! They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
29 Let my accusers be dressed in shame; let them wear their disgrace like a coat.
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May my accusers be clothed with dishonor; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!
30 But I will give great thanks to the LORD with my mouth; among a great crowd I will praise God!
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With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
31 Because God stands right next to the needy, to save them from any who would condemn them.
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For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025