Psalm 109

Prayer against an Enemy

For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.

God of my praise, do not be silent.(A)

For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me;
they speak against me with lying tongues.(B)
They surround me with hateful words
and attack me without cause.(C)
In return for my love they accuse me,
but I continue to pray.[a](D)
They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.(E)

Set a wicked person over him;
let an accuser[b] stand at his right hand.(F)
When he is judged, let him be found guilty,
and let his prayer be counted as sin.(G)
Let his days be few;
let another take over his position.(H)
Let his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.(I)
10 Let his children wander as beggars,
searching for food far[c] from their demolished homes.(J)
11 Let a creditor seize all he has;
let strangers plunder what he has worked for.(K)
12 Let no one show him kindness,
and let no one be gracious to his fatherless children.(L)
13 Let the line of his descendants be cut off;
let their name be blotted out in the next generation.(M)
14 Let his ancestors’ guilt
be remembered before the Lord,(N)
and do not let his mother’s sin be blotted out.(O)
15 Let their sins[d] always remain before the Lord,
and let Him erase[e] all memory of them from the earth.(P)

16 For he did not think to show kindness,
but pursued the afflicted, poor, and brokenhearted
in order to put them to death.(Q)
17 He loved cursing—let it fall on him;
he took no delight in blessing—let it be far from him.(R)
18 He wore cursing like his coat—
let it enter his body like water
and go into his bones like oil.(S)
19 Let it be like a robe he wraps around himself,
like a belt he always wears.(T)
20 Let this be the Lord’s payment to my accusers,
to those who speak evil against me.(U)

21 But You, Yahweh my Lord,
deal kindly with me because of Your name;(V)
deliver me because of the goodness of Your faithful love.(W)
22 For I am afflicted and needy;(X)
my heart is wounded within me.(Y)
23 I fade away like a lengthening shadow;(Z)
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak from fasting,
and my body is emaciated.[f](AA)
25 I have become an object of ridicule to my accusers;[g]
when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn.(AB)

26 Help me, Lord my God;
save me according to Your faithful love(AC)
27 so they may know that this is Your hand
and that You, Lord, have done it.(AD)
28 Though they curse, You will bless.
When they rise up, they will be put to shame,
but Your servant will rejoice.(AE)
29 My accusers will be clothed with disgrace;
they will wear their shame like a cloak.(AF)
30 I will fervently thank the Lord with my mouth;
I will praise Him in the presence of many.(AG)
31 For He stands at the right hand of the needy
to save him from those who would condemn him.(AH)

Psalm 110

The Priestly King

A Davidic psalm.

This is the declaration of the Lord
to my Lord:
“Sit at My right hand
until I make Your enemies Your footstool.”(AI)
The Lord will extend Your mighty scepter from Zion.
Rule[h] over Your surrounding[i] enemies.(AJ)
Your people will volunteer
on Your day of battle.[j](AK)
In holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn,
the dew of Your youth belongs to You.[k](AL)
The Lord has sworn an oath and will not take it back:
“Forever, You are a priest
like Melchizedek.”(AM)

The Lord is at Your right hand;
He will crush kings on the day of His anger.(AN)
He will judge the nations, heaping up corpses;(AO)
He will crush leaders over the entire world.(AP)
He will drink from the brook by the road;(AQ)
therefore, He will lift up His head.(AR)

Psalm 111

Praise for the Lord’s Works

Hallelujah![l]
I will praise the Lord with all my heart
in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.(AS)

The Lord’s works are great,
studied by all who delight in them.(AT)
All that He does is splendid and majestic;(AU)
His righteousness endures forever.(AV)
He has caused His wonderful works to be remembered.(AW)
The Lord is gracious and compassionate.(AX)
He has provided food for those who fear Him;(AY)
He remembers His covenant forever.(AZ)
He has shown His people the power of His works
by giving them the inheritance of the nations.(BA)
The works of His hands are truth and justice;
all His instructions are trustworthy.(BB)
They are established forever and ever,
enacted in truth and in what is right.(BC)
He has sent redemption to His people.(BD)
He has ordained His covenant forever.
His name is holy and awe-inspiring.(BE)

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;(BF)
all who follow His instructions[m] have good insight.(BG)
His praise endures forever.(BH)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 109:4 Lit but I, prayer
  2. Psalm 109:6 Or adversary
  3. Psalm 109:10 LXX reads beggars, driven far
  4. Psalm 109:15 Lit Let them
  5. Psalm 109:15 Or cut off
  6. Psalm 109:24 Lit denied from fat
  7. Psalm 109:25 Lit to them
  8. Psalm 110:2 One Hb ms, LXX, Tg read You will rule
  9. Psalm 110:2 Lit Rule in the midst of Your
  10. Psalm 110:3 Lit power
  11. Psalm 110:3 Hb obscure
  12. Psalm 111:1 The lines of this poem form an acrostic.
  13. Psalm 111:10 Lit follow them

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