New Living Translation NLT
English Standard Version ESV
1 O God, whom I praise, don’t stand silent and aloof
1
Be not silent, O God of my praise!
2 while the wicked slander me and tell lies about me.
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For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues.
3 They surround me with hateful words and fight against me for no reason.
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They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause.
4 I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations even as I am praying for them!
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In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer.
5 They repay evil for good, and hatred for my love.
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So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6 They say, “Get an evil person to turn against him. Send an accuser to bring him to trial.
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Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When his case comes up for judgment, let him be pronounced guilty. Count his prayers as sins.
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When he is tried, let him come forth guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin!
8 Let his years be few; let someone else take his position.
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May his days be few; may another take his office!
9 May his children become 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 as beggars and be driven from their ruined homes.
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May his children wander about and beg, seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
11 May creditors seize his entire estate, and strangers take all he has earned.
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May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
12 Let no one be kind to him; let no one pity his fatherless children.
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Let there be none to extend kindness to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children!
13 May all his offspring die. May his family name be blotted out in the next generation.
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May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation!
14 May the LORD never forget the sins of his fathers; may his mother’s sins never be erased from the record.
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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 May the LORD always remember these sins, and may his name disappear from human memory.
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Let them be before the Lord continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!
16 For he refused all kindness to others; he persecuted the poor and needy, and he hounded the brokenhearted to death.
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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 He loved to curse others; now you curse him. He never blessed others; now don’t you bless 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 Cursing is as natural to him as his clothing, or the water he drinks, or the rich food he eats.
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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 Now may his curses return and cling to him like clothing; may they be tied around him like a belt.”
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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 May those curses become the LORD ’s punishment for my accusers who speak evil of 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 deal well with me, O Sovereign LORD, for the sake of your own reputation! Rescue me because you are so faithful and 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 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is full of pain.
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For I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me.
23 I am fading like a shadow at dusk; I am brushed off like a locust.
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I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak from fasting, and I am skin and bones.
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My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
25 I am a joke to people everywhere; when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn.
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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 because of your unfailing love.
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Help me, O Lord my God! Save me according to your steadfast love!
27 Let them see that this is your doing, that you yourself have done it, LORD .
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Let them know that this is your hand; you, O Lord, have done it!
28 Then let them curse me if they like, but you will bless me! When they attack me, they will be disgraced! But I, your servant, will go right on rejoicing!
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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 May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may their humiliation cover them like a cloak.
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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 repeated thanks to the LORD, praising him to everyone.
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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 For he stands beside the needy, ready to save them from those who 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.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025