The Song of the Slandered 1 UST A note to the worship leader: David wrote this psalm. God, you are the one whom I praise, so please answer my prayer BSB BSB: For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O God of my praise, be not silent.
2 UST because evil and dishonest people slander me and tell lies about me. BSB BSB: For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me; they speak against me with lying tongues.
3 UST On all sides of me they say things that show that they hate me, and they harm me for no reason. BSB BSB: They surround me with hateful words and attack me without cause.
4 UST I show them that I love them but instead of being kind to me, they say that I have done evil things. So I pray to God{ about it}. BSB BSB: In return for my love they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.
5 UST I do good things for them and they respond by doing evil things to me. I love them and they respond by hating me. BSB BSB: They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6 UST So appoint a wicked judge who will judge my enemy, and bring one{ of his enemies} who will stand next to him and accuse him{ of doing evil things}. BSB BSB: Set over him a wicked man; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 UST Let that judge declare that my enemy is guilty, and may you judge that even his prayer{ to you} is a sin. BSB BSB: When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayer be regarded as sin.
8 UST Then cause him to die soon; let people honor someone else rather than him. BSB BSB: May his days be few; may another take his position.
9 UST Cause his children not to have a father anymore, and cause his wife to become a widow. BSB BSB: May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.
10 UST Cause his children to wander far from their ruined homes, begging and looking for food. BSB BSB: May his children wander as beggars, seeking sustenance far from their ruined homes.
11 UST Let the people to whom he owed money seize all of his property; let strangers take away everything that he worked to acquire. BSB BSB: May the creditor seize all he owns, and strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
12 UST Make sure that no one is faithfully loving to him; make sure that no one pities his fatherless children. BSB BSB: May there be no one to extend kindness to him, and no one to favor his fatherless children.
13 UST Cause all his children to die, so that there will not be another generation to continue his name. BSB BSB: May his descendants be cut off; may their name be blotted out from the next generation.
14 UST Yahweh, consider all of the evil things that his ancestors did and do not forgive the sins that his mother committed. BSB BSB: May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, and the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
15 UST Please think about their sins always, but cause everyone on earth to completely forget who they were. BSB BSB: May their sins always remain before the LORD, that He may cut off their memory from the earth.
16 UST I pray these things because that man{, my enemy,} was never faithful toward anyone as your covenant says we must be; instead, he persecuted poor, needy, and grieving people until they were dead. BSB BSB: For he never thought to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and brokenhearted, even to their death.
17 UST He enjoyed cursing{ other people}, so now people are cursing him. He did not want to bless{ other people}, so there will be no one who blesses him. BSB BSB: 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 UST Cursing{ other people} is as natural for him as wearing clothes. Cursing{ other people} is so much a part of who he is that it is like the water that he drinks; it is so much a part of who he is that it is like olive oil that has soaked into his bones. BSB BSB: The cursing that he wore like a coat, may it soak into his body like water, and into his bones like oil.
19 UST Cause those terrible curses to continually afflict him like clothes that cling to him and like the belt that he wears every day. BSB BSB: May it be like a robe wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around him.
20 UST Yahweh, let this{ curse} be the way that you punish all of those who accuse me{ of doing bad things} and all of those who say evil things about me. BSB BSB: May this be the LORD’s reward to my accusers, to those who speak evil against me.
21 UST But you, Yahweh, my God, please be kind to me because of who you are! Rescue me{ from my enemies} because you faithfully love me as you promised. BSB BSB: 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 UST I ask you to do this because I am destitute and I am intensely sorrowful. BSB BSB: For I am poor and needy; my heart is wounded within me.
23 UST I think that my time to remain alive will end as quickly as an evening shadow disappears. I will be gone as quickly as a man shakes off a locust. BSB BSB: I am fading away like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust.
24 UST My knees are weak because I have fasted very often, and my body has become very thin; any fat is gone. BSB BSB: My knees are weak from fasting, and my body grows lean and gaunt.
25 UST The people who accuse me despise me; when they see me, they insult me by shaking their heads at me. BSB BSB: I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads.
26 UST Yahweh, the God whom I worship, please help me! Rescue me because you faithfully love me! BSB BSB: Help me, O LORD my God; save me according to Your loving devotion.
27 UST Then my enemies will know that you, Yahweh, are the one who has done it! BSB BSB: Let them know that this is Your hand, that You, O LORD, have done it.
28 UST As for them, they will curse{ me}, but you, in contrast, will bless{ me}. When they persecute{ me},{ the result will be that} you make them ashamed, but you cause{ me,} your servant, to be glad! BSB BSB: Though they curse, You will bless. When they rise up, they will be put to shame, but Your servant will rejoice.
29 UST Please let everyone see that those who accuse me are completely disgraceful! Yes, cause other people to see that they are shameful as easily as someone sees the clothes that they wear! BSB BSB: May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may they wear their shame like a robe.
30 UST I will thank Yahweh very much out loud; I will praise him when I am among the crowd of people who are worshiping him. BSB BSB: With my mouth I will thank the LORD profusely; I will praise Him in the presence of many.
31 UST I will do that because he defends poor people{ like me} in order to save{ us} from those who would condemn us to die. BSB BSB: For He stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from the condemners of his soul.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.