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¹ Holde not thy tongue: O thou the Lorde of my prayse.² For the mouth of the vngodly and the mouth of the deceiptfull is opened vpon me: they haue spoken against me with a false tongue.³ And they haue compassed me about with hatefull wordes: and fought against me without a cause.⁴ For the loue that I bare vnto them, they are become mine aduersaries: but I geue my selfe vnto prayer.⁵ Thus haue they rewarded me euyll for good: and hatred for my good wyll.

⁶ Set thou an vngodly man to be ruler ouer him: and let Satan stande at his right hande.⁷ When sentence is geuen vpon hym, let him be condemned: and let his prayer be turned into sinne.⁸ Let his dayes be fewe: and let another take his office.⁹ Let his chyldren be fatherlesse: and his wyfe a wydowe.¹⁰ Let his children be vagaboundes and go a begging: and let them seeke [foode] out of their barren groundes.¹¹ Let the extortioner bryng into his snare all that he hath: and let straungers spoyle his labour.¹² Let there be no man to shewe hym any gentlenes: nor to haue compassion vpon his fatherlesse children.¹³ Let his posteritie come to destruction: and in the next generation let his name be cleane put out.¹⁴ Let the wyckednes of his fathers be had in remembraunce in the sight of God: and let not the sinne of his mother be wyped away.¹⁵ Let them be alway before God: that he may roote out the memorial of them from the earth.¹⁶ Because that he remembred not to do good: but he persecuted the afflicted and poore man, and hym whose heart was broken with sorow, that he might take his life from hym.¹⁷ His delight was in cursing, and it shal happen vnto him: he loued not blessing, therfore it hath ben farre fro him.¹⁸ He clothed hym selfe with cursing, as with his garment: and it hath entred into his bowels like water, and like oyle into his bones.¹⁹ Let it be vnto hym as the garment that he is wrapt in: and as the gyrdle that he is alway gyrded withall.²⁰ Let this rewarde be from God vnto myne aduersaries: and vnto those that speake euill against my soule.

²¹ But thou O God my Lorde, do vnto me according vnto thy name: for sweete is thy mercy.²² Deliuer me, for truely I am afflicted: and I am poore, and my heart is wounded within me.²³ I passe away like a vading shadowe: and I am dryuen from place to place lyke the grashopper.²⁴ My knees are weake through fasting: my fleshe is dryed vp for want of fatnesse.²⁵ I am become also a reproche vnto them: they gase vpon me [and] they shake their head.²⁶ Helpe me O my Lorde: oh saue me according to thy mercy.²⁷ And let the know how that this is thy hande: & that thou O God hast done it.²⁸ They will curse, but thou wylt blesse: they wyl rise vp [against me] but let them be confounded, and thy seruaunt wyll reioyce.²⁹ Let mine aduersaries be clothed with shame: & let them couer the selues with their owne cofusion, as with a garment.³⁰ As for me I will greatly prayse God with my mouth: and I wyll prayse hym among the multitude.³¹ For he wyll stande at the right hande of the poore: to saue him from the iudges of his soule.