Read the Bible

¹ God, I praise you!
    Hear my prayer and do something!
² Wicked people are telling lies about me.
    They are saying things that are not true.
³ They are saying hateful things about me.
    They are attacking me for no reason.
⁴ I loved them, but they were against me.
    So I said a prayer.
⁵ I did good things to them,
    but they are doing bad things to me.
I loved them,
    but they hated me.

⁶ They said, "Choose someone evil to represent him.
    Let the one at his side really be his accuser.
⁷ Let even his prayer be used as evidence against him,
    and let the court find him guilty.
⁸ Let his life be cut short,
    and let someone else take over his work.
⁹ Let his children become orphans and his wife a widow.
¹⁰ Make his children wander around as beggars,
    forced from homes that lie in ruins.
¹¹ Let the people he owes take everything he owns.
    Let strangers get everything he worked for.
¹² Let no one be kind to him.
    Let no one show mercy to his children.
¹³ May his family come to an end.
    May his name be unknown to future generations.
¹⁴ May the Lord remember the sins of his father,
    and may his mother's sins never be erased.
¹⁵ May the Lord remember their sins forever,
    and may he cause people to forget his family completely.
¹⁶ He never did anything good.
    He never loved anyone.
    He made life hard for the poor and the helpless.
¹⁷ He loved to curse others,
    so let those bad things happen to him.
He never blessed others,
    so don't let good things happen to him.
¹⁸ Cursing was a daily part of his life,
    like the clothes he wears.
Cursing others became a part of him,
    like the water he drinks and the oil he puts on his body.
¹⁹ So let curses cover him like the robe he wears
    and always surround him like a belt."

²⁰ My enemies said these evil things against me.
    But may those curses be the way the Lord punishes them.
²¹ My Lord God, treat me in a way that brings honor to your name.
    Save me because of your faithful love.
²² I am only a poor, helpless man.
    I am so sad; my heart is broken.
²³ I feel my life is over, fading like a shadow at day's end.
    I feel like a bug that someone brushed away.
²⁴ My knees are weak from fasting.
    I have lost weight and become thin.
²⁵ My enemies insult me.
    They look at me and shake their heads.
²⁶ Lord my God, help me!
    Show your faithful love and save me!
²⁷ Then they will know that you did it.
    They will know that it was your power, Lord, that helped me.
²⁸ They curse me, but you can bless me.
    They attacked me, so defeat them.
    Then I, your servant, will be happy.
²⁹ Humiliate my enemies!
    Let them wear their shame like a coat.
³⁰ I give thanks to the Lord.
    I praise him in front of everyone.
³¹ He stands by the helpless
    and saves them from those who try to put them to death.