Song of the Slandered
1{To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.} Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;
2For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
3They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.
4For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.
5And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.
7When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin.
8Let his days be few; and let another take his office.
9Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
10Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.
11Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour.
12Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children.
13Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.
14Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.
16Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.
17As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.
18As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones.
19Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually.
20Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul.
21But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name's sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.
22For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
23I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.
24My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness.
25I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads.
26Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy mercy:
27That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, LORD, hast done it.
28Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice.
29Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle.
30I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.
31For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
The Song of the Slandered
1 For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. God of my praise, don’t remain silent,
2 for they have opened the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit against me. They have spoken to me with a lying tongue.
3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause.
4 In return for my love, they are my adversaries; but I am in prayer.
5 They have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6 Set a wicked man over him. Let an adversary stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, let him come forth guilty. Let his prayer be turned into sin.
8 Let his days be few. Let another take his office.
9 Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
10 Let his children be wandering beggars. Let them be sought from their ruins.
11 Let the creditor seize all that he has. Let strangers plunder the fruit of his labor.
12 Let there be no one to extend kindness to him, neither let there be anyone to have pity on his fatherless children.
13 Let his posterity be cut off. In the generation following let their name be blotted out.
14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by Yahweh. Don’t let the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15 Let them be before Yahweh continually, that he may cut off their memory from the earth;
16 because he didn’t remember to show kindness, but persecuted the poor and needy man, the broken in heart, to kill them.
17 Yes, he loved cursing, and it came to him. He didn’t delight in blessing, and it was far from him.
18 He clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment. It came into his inward parts like water, like oil into his bones.
19 Let it be to him as the clothing with which he covers himself, for the belt that is always around him.
20 This is the reward of my adversaries from Yahweh, of those who speak evil against my soul.
21 But deal with me, Yahweh the Lord, for your name’s sake, because your loving kindness is good, deliver me;
22 for I am poor and needy. My heart is wounded within me.
23 I fade away like an evening shadow. I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting. My body is thin and lacks fat.
25 I have also become a reproach to them. When they see me, they shake their head.
26 Help me, Yahweh, my God. Save me according to your loving kindness;
27 that they may know that this is your hand; that you, Yahweh, have done it.
28 They may curse, but you bless. When they arise, they will be shamed, but your servant shall rejoice.
29 Let my adversaries be clothed with dishonor. Let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
30 I will give great thanks to Yahweh with my mouth. Yes, I will praise him among the multitude.
31 For he will stand at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who judge his soul.
The Song of the Slandered
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1O God of my praise,
be not silent.
2 For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me;
they speak against me with lying tongues.
3 They surround me with hateful words
and attack me without cause.
4 In return for my love they accuse me,
but I am a man of prayer.
5 They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.
6 Set over him a wicked man;
let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
and may his prayer be regarded as sin.
8 May his days be few;
may another take his position. a
9 May his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.
10 May his children wander as beggars,
seeking sustenance b far from their ruined homes.
11 May the creditor seize all he owns,
and strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
12 May there be no one to extend kindness to him,
and no one to favor his fatherless children.
13 May his descendants be cut off;
may their name be blotted out from the next generation.
14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD,
and the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
15 May their sins always remain before the LORD,
that He may cut off their memory from the earth.
16 For he never thought to show kindness,
but pursued the poor and needy and brokenhearted,
even to their death.
17 The cursing that he loved,
may it fall on him;
the blessing in which he refused to delight,
may it be far from him.
18 The cursing that he wore like a coat,
may it soak into his body like water,
and into his bones like oil.
19 May it be like a robe wrapped about him,
like a belt tied forever around him.
20 May this be the LORD’s reward to my accusers,
to those who speak evil against me.
21 But You, O GOD, the Lord,
deal kindly with me for the sake of Your name;
deliver me by the goodness of Your loving devotion.
22 For I am poor and needy;
my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am fading away like a lengthening shadow;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak from fasting,
and my body grows lean and gaunt.
25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they shake their heads.
26 Help me, O LORD my God;
save me according to Your loving devotion.
27 Let them know that this is Your hand,
that You, O LORD, have done it.
28 Though they curse, You will bless.
When they rise up, they will be put to shame,
but Your servant will rejoice.
29 May my accusers be clothed with disgrace;
may they wear their shame like a robe.
30 With my mouth I will thank the LORD profusely;
I will praise Him in the presence of many.
31 For He stands at the right hand of the needy one,
to save him from the condemners of his soul.
Footnotes:
8 a Cited in Acts 1:20
10 b Hebrew; LXX may they be driven
Song of the Slandered
1To the Overseer. -- A Psalm of David. O God of my praise, be not silent,
2For the mouth of wickedness, and the mouth of deceit, Against me they have opened, They have spoken with me -- A tongue of falsehood, and words of hatred!
3They have compassed me about, And they fight me without cause.
4For my love they oppose me, and I -- prayer!
5And they set against me evil for good, And hatred for my love.
6Appoint Thou over him the wicked, And an adversary standeth at his right hand.
7In his being judged, he goeth forth wicked, And his prayer is for sin.
8His days are few, his oversight another taketh,
9His sons are fatherless, and his wife a widow.
10And wander continually do his sons, Yea, they have begged, And have sought out of their dry places.
11An exactor layeth a snare for all that he hath, And strangers spoil his labour.
12He hath none to extend kindness, Nor is there one showing favour to his orphans.
13His posterity is for cutting off, In another generation is their name blotted out.
14The iniquity of his fathers Is remembered unto Jehovah, And the sin of his mother is not blotted out.
15They are before Jehovah continually, And He cutteth off from earth their memorial.
16Because that he hath not remembered to do kindness, And pursueth the poor man and needy, And the smitten of heart -- to slay,
17And he loveth reviling, and it meeteth him, And he hath not delighted in blessing, And it is far from him.
18And he putteth on reviling as his robe, And it cometh in as water into his midst, And as oil into his bones.
19It is to him as apparel -- he covereth himself, And for a continual girdle he girdeth it on.
20This is the wage of mine accusers from Jehovah, And of those speaking evil against my soul.
21And Thou, O Jehovah Lord, Deal with me for Thy name's sake, Because Thy kindness is good, deliver me.
22For I am poor and needy, And my heart hath been pierced in my midst.
23As a shadow when it is stretched out I have gone, I have been driven away as a locust.
24My knees have been feeble from fasting, And my flesh hath failed of fatness.
25And I -- I have been a reproach to them, They see me, they shake their head.
26Help me, O Jehovah my God, Save me, according to Thy kindness.
27And they know that this is Thy hand, Thou, O Jehovah, Thou hast done it.
28They revile, and Thou dost bless, They have risen, and are ashamed, And Thy servant doth rejoice.
29Mine accusers put on blushing, and are covered, As an upper robe is their shame.
30I thank Jehovah greatly with my mouth, And in the midst of many I praise Him,
31For He standeth at the right hand of the needy, To save from those judging his soul.
