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Vengeance Invoked upon Adversaries.

¹ O ^(C1)God of my praise!
^(C2)Do not keep silent,

² For the mouth of the wicked and the ^(C1)mouth of the deceitful are opened against me;
They have spoken against me with a ^(C2)lying tongue.

³ They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And have fought against me ^(C1)without a cause.

⁴ In return ^(C1)for my love, they attack me,
But ^(C2)I am in prayer.

⁵ They have ^(C1)repaid me evil for good,
And ^(C2)hatred for my love.

⁶ Appoint a wicked man against him,
And let an ^(C1)attacker stand at his right hand to kill him.

⁷ When he enters into dispute, let ^(C1)wickedness come about.
Let his ^(C2)prayer for help result only in sin.

⁸ Let ^(C1)his days be few;
And let ^(C2)another take his office. ^(VR1)

⁹ Let his ^(C1)children be fatherless
And his ^(C2)wife a widow.

¹⁰ Let his ^(C1)children wander and beg;
Let them ^(C2)seek their food and be driven far from their ruined homes. ^(VR1)

¹¹ Let ^(C1)the creditor seize all that he has,
And let ^(C2)strangers plunder the product of his labor.

¹² Let there be no one to ^(C1)extend kindness to him,
Nor let ^(C2)anyone be gracious to his fatherless children.

¹³ Let his ^(C1)descendants be cut off,
And in the following generation let their ^(C2)name be blotted out.

¹⁴ Let ^(C1)the wickedness of his fathers be remembered by the LORD;
And do not let the sin of his mother be ^(C2)blotted out.

¹⁵ Let ^(C1)them be before the LORD continually,
That He may ^(C2)cut off their memory from the earth;

¹⁶ Because the man did not remember to show kindness,
But persecuted the ^(C1)suffering and needy man,
And the ^(C2)brokenhearted, to ^(C3)put them to death.

¹⁷ He also loved cursing, and ^(C1)it came back to him;
He did not delight in blessing, so it was far from him.

¹⁸ He ^(C1)clothed himself with cursing as with his garment,
And it ^(C2)seeped into his inner self like water
And like anointing oil into his bones.

¹⁹ Let it be to him as a ^(C1)robe with which he covers himself,
And as a sash with which he is constantly ^(C2)bound.

²⁰ Let this be the ^(C1)reward of my attackers from the LORD,
And of those who ^(C2)speak evil against my life.

²¹ But You, O GOD, the Lord, show kindness to me, ^(C1)for Your name's sake;
Because ^(C2)Your lovingkindness (faithfulness, compassion) is good, O rescue me;

²² For ^(C1)I am suffering and needy,
And my heart is ^(C2)wounded within me.

²³ I am vanishing ^(C1)like a shadow when it lengthens and fades;
I am shaken off like ^(C2)the locust.

²⁴ My ^(C1)knees are unsteady from ^(C2)fasting;
And my flesh is gaunt and without fatness.

²⁵ I also have become a ^(C1)reproach and an object of taunting to others;
When they see me, they ^(C2)shake their heads in derision. ^(VR1)

^26 (C1)Help me, O LORD my God;
Save me according to Your lovingkindness—

²⁷ And let them ^(C1)know that this is Your hand;
You, LORD, have done it.

^28 (C1)Let them curse, but You bless.
When adversaries arise, let them be ashamed,
But let Your ^(C2)servant rejoice.

²⁹ Let ^(C1)my attackers be clothed with dishonor,
And let them ^(C2)cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.

³⁰ I will give great praise and thanks to the LORD with my mouth;
And in the midst of many ^(C1)I will praise Him.

³¹ For He will stand ^(C1)at the right hand of the needy,
To save him from those who ^(C2)judge his soul.