For the music director, a psalm of David.
109:1 O God whom I praise, do not ignore me!
109:2 For they say cruel and deceptive things to me; they lie to me.
109:3 They surround me and say hateful things; they attack me for no reason.
109:4 They repay my love with accusations, but I continue to pray.
109:5 They repay me evil for good, and hate for love.
109:6 Appoint an evil man to testify against him! May an accuser stand at his right side!
109:7 When he is judged, he will be found guilty! Then his prayer will be regarded as sinful.
109:8 May his days be few! May another take his job!
109:9 May his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow!
109:10 May his children roam around begging, asking for handouts as they leave their ruined home!
109:11 May the creditor seize all he owns! May strangers loot his property!
109:12 May no one show him kindness! May no one have compassion on his fatherless children!
109:13 May his descendants be cut off! May the memory of them be wiped out by the time the next generation arrives!
109:14 May his ancestors’ sins be remembered by the Lord! May his mother’s sin not be forgotten!
109:15 May the Lord be constantly aware of them, and cut off the memory of his children from the earth!
109:16 For he never bothered to show kindness; he harassed the oppressed and needy, and killed the disheartened.
109:17 He loved to curse others, so those curses have come upon him. He had no desire to bless anyone, so he has experienced no blessings.
109:18 He made cursing a way of life, so curses poured into his stomach like water and seeped into his bones like oil.