| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. Do not keep silent, O God of my praise! | 1For the music director, a psalm of David. O God whom I praise, do not ignore me! |
| 2For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful Have opened against me; They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. | 2For they say cruel and deceptive things to me; they lie to me. |
| 3They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And fought against me without a cause. | 3They surround me and say hateful things; they attack me for no reason. |
| 4In return for my love they are my accusers, But I give myself to prayer. | 4They repay my love with accusations, but I continue to pray. |
| 5Thus they have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love. | 5They repay me evil for good, and hate for love. |
| 6Set a wicked man over him, And let an accuser stand at his right hand. | 6Appoint an evil man to testify against him! May an accuser stand at his right side! |
| 7When he is judged, let him be found guilty, And let his prayer become sin. | 7When he is judged, he will be found guilty! Then his prayer will be regarded as sinful. |
| 8Let his days be few, And let another take his office. | 8May his days be few! May another take his job! |
| 9Let his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow. | 9May his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow! |
| 10Let his children continually be vagabonds, and beg; Let them seek their bread also from their desolate places. | 10May his children roam around begging, asking for handouts as they leave their ruined home! |
| 11Let the creditor seize all that he has, And let strangers plunder his labor. | 11May the creditor seize all he owns! May strangers loot his property! |
| 12Let there be none to extend mercy to him, Nor let there be any to favor his fatherless children. | 12May no one show him kindness! May no one have compassion on his fatherless children! |
| 13Let his posterity be cut off, And in the generation following let their name be blotted out. | 13May his descendants be cut off! May the memory of them be wiped out by the time the next generation arrives! |
| 14Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. | 14May his ancestors' sins be remembered by the LORD! May his mother's sin not be forgotten! |
| 15Let them be continually before the LORD, That He may cut off the memory of them from the earth; | 15May the LORD be constantly aware of them, and cut off the memory of his children from the earth! |
| 16Because he did not remember to show mercy, But persecuted the poor and needy man, That he might even slay the broken in heart. | 16For he never bothered to show kindness; he harassed the oppressed and needy, and killed the disheartened. |
| 17As he loved cursing, so let it come to him; As he did not delight in blessing, so let it be far from him. | 17He loved to curse others, so those curses have come upon him. He had no desire to bless anyone, so he has experienced no blessings. |
| 18As he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment, So let it enter his body like water, And like oil into his bones. | 18He made cursing a way of life, so curses poured into his stomach like water and seeped into his bones like oil. |
| 19Let it be to him like the garment which covers him, And for a belt with which he girds himself continually. | 19May a curse attach itself to him, like a garment one puts on, or a belt one wears continually! |
| 20Let this be the LORD’s reward to my accusers, And to those who speak evil against my person. | 20May the LORD repay my accusers in this way, those who say evil things about me! |
| 21But You, O GOD the Lord, Deal with me for Your name’s sake; Because Your mercy is good, deliver me. | 21O sovereign LORD, intervene on my behalf for the sake of your reputation! Because your loyal love is good, deliver me! |
| 22For I am poor and needy, And my heart is wounded within me. | 22For I am oppressed and needy, and my heart beats violently within me. |
| 23I am gone like a shadow when it lengthens; I am shaken off like a locust. | 23I am fading away like a shadow at the end of the day; I am shaken off like a locust. |
| 24My knees are weak through fasting, And my flesh is feeble from lack of fatness. | 24I am so starved my knees shake; I have turned into skin and bones. |
| 25I also have become a reproach to them; When they look at me, they shake their heads. | 25I am disdained by them. When they see me, they shake their heads. |
| 26Help me, O LORD my God! Oh, save me according to Your mercy, | 26Help me, O LORD my God! Because you are faithful to me, deliver me! |
| 27That they may know that this is Your hand— That You, LORD, have done it! | 27Then they will realize this is your work, and that you, LORD, have accomplished it. |
| 28Let them curse, but You bless; When they arise, let them be ashamed, But let Your servant rejoice. | 28They curse, but you will bless. When they attack, they will be humiliated, but your servant will rejoice. |
| 29Let my accusers be clothed with shame, And let them cover themselves with their own disgrace as with a mantle. | 29My accusers will be covered with shame, and draped in humiliation as if it were a robe. |
| 30I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; Yes, I will praise Him among the multitude. | 30I will thank the LORD profusely, in the middle of a crowd I will praise him, |
| 31For He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, To save him from those who condemn him. | 31because he stands at the right hand of the needy, to deliver him from those who threaten his life. |
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