Psaume 109

God of my praise, do not be silent

¹For the music director. Of David. A psalm. God whom I praise, do not keep silent. ²For the wicked have opened deceitful mouths against me; they speak to me with lies on their tongues. ³They have hemmed me in with hateful words and attacked me for no reason. ⁴They repay my love by accusing me, yet I go on praying. ⁵They hand me evil for the good I did, and hatred in exchange for my love. ⁶Put someone wicked in charge of him; may an accuser take his stand at his right side.^{ab 7}When he is tried, may the verdict be guilty, and may his very prayer count as sin. ⁸May his life be short, and may someone else take over his position. ⁹May his children lose their father and his wife be left a widow. ¹⁰May his children roam about as beggars, searching for food far from their ruined homes.^{c 11}May the moneylender snatch up all he owns, and strangers carry off what he worked for. ¹²May no one keep showing him loyal love, and no one take pity on his orphaned children. ¹³May his line come to an end, their name erased within a generation. ¹⁴May the LORD keep in mind the guilt of his ancestors, and may his mother’s sin never be erased. ¹⁵May their sins stay always before the LORD, and may he wipe out all memory of them from the earth. ¹⁶For he never thought to show loyal love; he hounded the poor and needy and the heartbroken to their death. ¹⁷He loved to curse, and the curse has come back on him; he had no wish to bless, and blessing has stayed far from him.^{d 18}He put on cursing as his clothing; it seeped like water into his inner being and soaked like oil deep into his bones. ¹⁹May it be the cloak he wraps around him, the belt he ties on every day. ²⁰May this be how the LORD repays my accusers, those who speak evil against me. ²¹But you, Lord GOD, take my side for the honor of your name; rescue me, for your loyal love is good. ²²For I am poor and helpless; my heart within me is pierced through. ²³Like a shadow lengthening at dusk I pass away; I am brushed off like a locust. ²⁴My knees buckle from going without food, and my body has grown thin, with no fat left on it. ²⁵They treat me with contempt; when they catch sight of me, they shake their heads at me. ²⁶LORD my God, come to my help! Save me, true to your loyal love. ²⁷Make them see that this is your own hand at work, that you, LORD, are the one who did it. ²⁸They may curse, but you will bless; when they rise against me they will be disgraced, while your servant rejoices. ²⁹May my accusers be dressed in dishonor and wrapped in their own shame like a cloak. ³⁰My lips will thank the LORD over and over; I will praise him in the middle of the crowd. ³¹For he takes his place at the right side of the needy, to save them from those who would sentence them to death.