The Message Bible MSG
New International Version NIV
1 My God, don't turn a deaf ear to my hallelujah prayer.
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My God, whom I praise, do not remain silent,
2 Liars are pouring out invective on me; Their lying tongues are like a pack of dogs out to get me,
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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 barking their hate, nipping my heels - and for no reason!
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With words of hatred they surround me; they attack me without cause.
4 I loved them and now they slander me - yes, me! - and treat my prayer like a crime;
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In return for my friendship they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.
5 They return my good with evil, they return my love with hate.
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They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my friendship.
6 Send the Evil One to accuse my accusing judge; dispatch Satan to prosecute him.
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Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he's judged, let the verdict be, "Guilty," and when he prays, let his prayer turn to sin.
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When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayers condemn him.
8 Give him a short life, and give his job to somebody else.
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May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership.
9 Make orphans of his children, dress his wife in widow's weeds;
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May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.
10 Turn his children into begging street urchins, evicted from their homes - homeless.
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May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes.
11 May the bank foreclose and wipe him out, and strangers, like vultures, pick him clean.
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May a creditor seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
12 May there be no one around to help him out, no one willing to give his orphans a break.
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May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children.
13 Chop down his family tree so that nobody even remembers his name.
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May his descendants be cut off, their names blotted out from the next generation.
14 But erect a memorial to the sin of his father, and make sure his mother's name is there, too -
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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 Their sins recorded forever before God, but they themselves sunk in oblivion.
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May their sins always remain before the LORD, that he may blot out their name from the earth.
16 That's all he deserves since he was never once kind, hounded the afflicted and heartbroken to their graves.
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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 Since he loved cursing so much, let curses rain down; Since he had no taste for blessing, let blessings flee 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 dressed up in curses like a fine suit of clothes; he drank curses, took his baths in curses.
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He wore cursing as his garment; it entered into his body like water, into his bones like oil.
19 So give him a gift - a costume of curses; he can wear curses every day of the week!
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May it be like a cloak wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around him.
20 That's what they'll get, those out to get me - an avalanche of just deserts from God.
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May this be the LORD’s payment to my accusers, to those who speak evil of me.
21 Oh, God, my Lord, step in; work a miracle for me - you can do it! Get me out of here - your love is so great! -
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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 I'm at the end of my rope, my life in ruins.
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For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I'm fading away to nothing, passing away, my youth gone, old before my time.
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I fade away like an evening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust.
24 I'm weak from hunger and can hardly stand up, my body a rack of skin and bones.
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My knees give way from fasting; my body is thin and gaunt.
25 I'm a joke in poor taste to those who see me; they take one look and shake 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, oh help me, God, my God, save me through your wonderful love;
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Help me, LORD my God; save me according to your unfailing love.
27 Then they'll know that your hand is in this, that you, God, have been at work.
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Let them know that it is your hand, that you, LORD, have done it.
28 Let them curse all they want; you do the blessing.
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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 them be jeered by the crowd when they stand up, followed by cheers for me, your servant. Dress my accusers in clothes dirty with shame, discarded and humiliating old ragbag clothes.
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May my accusers be clothed with disgrace and wrapped in shame as in a cloak.
30 My mouth's full of great praise for God, I'm singing his hallelujahs surrounded by crowds,
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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's always at hand to take the side of the needy, to rescue a life from the unjust judge.
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For he stands at the right hand of the needy, to save their lives from those who would condemn them.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
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.