Psalm 109

Help Me, O Lord My God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1
t Be not silent, O u God of my praise!
 2 For wicked and v deceitful mouths are opened against me,
speaking against me with lying tongues.
 3 They encircle me with words of hate,
and attack me w without cause.
 4 In return for my love they x accuse me,
but I y give myself to prayer. 1
5 So they z reward me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.

6 a Appoint a wicked man b against him;
let an accuser stand c at his right hand.
 7 When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;
let his d prayer be counted as sin!
 8 May his e days be few;
may f another take his g office!
 9 May his h children be fatherless
and his wife a widow!
 10 May his children i wander about and beg,
j seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
 11 May k the creditor seize all that he has;
may k strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
 12 Let there be none to l extend kindness to him,
nor any to m pity his fatherless children!
 13 May his n posterity be cut off;
may his o name be blotted out in the second generation!
 14 May p the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord,
and let not the sin of his mother be q blotted out!
 15 r Let them be before the Lord continually,
that he may s cut off the memory of them from the earth!

16 For he did not remember to show kindness,
but pursued t the poor and needy
and u the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
 17 v He loved to curse; let curses come 2 upon him!
He did not delight in blessing; may it be far 3 from him!
 18 He w clothed himself with cursing as his coat;
may it x soak 4 into his body like water,
like oil into his bones!
 19 May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,
like a belt that he puts on every day!
 20 May this be the reward of my y accusers from the Lord,
of those who speak evil against my life!

21 But you, O God my Lord,
deal on my behalf z for your name's sake;
because your a steadfast love is good, deliver me!
 22 For I am b poor and needy,
and my heart is stricken within me.
 23 I am gone like c a shadow at evening;
I am d shaken off like a locust.
 24 My knees are weak e through fasting;
my f body has become gaunt, with no fat.
 25 I am g an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they h wag their heads.

26 i Help me, O Lord my God!
Save me according to your steadfast love!
 27 Let them j know that this is your hand;
you, O Lord, have done it!
 28 k Let them curse, but you will bless!
They arise and are put to shame, but l your servant will be glad!
 29 May my accusers be m clothed with dishonor;
may they n be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!

30 With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord;
I will o praise him in the midst of the throng.
 31 For he stands p at the right hand of the needy one,
to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

  1. Cross References
    Psalms 28:1
    To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.
  2. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 10:21
    He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen.
    Psalms 71:6
    Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother's womb. My praise is continually of you.
    Jeremiah 17:14
    Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.
  3. Cross References
    Psalms 52:4
    You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.
  4. Cross References
    Psalms 69:4
    More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore?
  5. Cross References
    Psalms 38:20
    Those who render me evil for good accuse me because I follow after good.
  6. Cross References
    Psalms 69:13
    But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.
  7. Cross References
    Psalms 35:12
    They repay me evil for good; my soul is bereft.
  8. Cross References
    Psalms 109:6 - 15
    Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
    Psalms 35:4 - 8
    Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek after my life! Let them be turned back and disappointed who devise evil against me!
    Psalms 69:22 - 28
    Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.
  9. Cross References
    1 Chronicles 21:1
    Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.
    Zechariah 3:1
    Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
  10. Cross References
    Job 30:12
    On my right hand the rabble rise; they push away my feet; they cast up against me their ways of destruction.
  11. Cross References
    Proverbs 28:9
    If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
    Proverbs 15:8
    The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.
    Proverbs 21:27
    The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more when he brings it with evil intent.
  12. Cross References
    Psalms 55:23
    But you, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.
  13. Cross References
    Acts 1:20
    "For it is written in the Book of Psalms, "'May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it'; and "'Let another take his office.'
  14. Cross References
    Numbers 4:16
    "And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels."
    1 Chronicles 24:3
    With the help of Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, David organized them according to the appointed duties in their service.
  15. Cross References
    Exodus 22:24
    And my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.
  16. Cross References
    Genesis 4:12
    When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.
    Psalms 59:15
    They wander about for food and growl if they do not get their fill.
  17. Cross References
    Psalms 37:25
    I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.
  18. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 28:43 - 44
    The sojourner who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower.
  19. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 28:43 - 44
    The sojourner who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower.
  20. Cross References
    Psalms 36:10
    Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart!
  21. Cross References
    Job 5:4
    His children are far from safety; they are crushed in the gate, and there is no one to deliver them.
  22. Cross References
    Psalms 21:10
    You will destroy their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from among the children of man.
  23. Cross References
    Proverbs 10:7
    The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.
  24. Cross References
    Exodus 20:5
    You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me.
  25. Cross References
    Nehemiah 4:5
    Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.
    Jeremiah 18:23
    Yet you, O Lord, know all their plotting to kill me. Forgive not their iniquity, nor blot out their sin from your sight. Let them be overthrown before you; deal with them in the time of your anger.
  26. Cross References
    Psalms 90:8
    You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
  27. Cross References
    Psalms 34:16
    The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
  28. Cross References
    Psalms 109:22
    For I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me.
    Psalms 40:17
    As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!
  29. Cross References
    Psalms 34:18
    The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
  30. Cross References
    Proverbs 14:14
    The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.
    Ezekiel 35:6
    Therefore, as I live, declares the Lord God, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; because you did not hate bloodshed, therefore blood shall pursue you.
  31. Cross References
    Psalms 109:29
    May my accusers be clothed with dishonor; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!
    Psalms 73:6
    Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment.
  32. Cross References
    Numbers 5:22
    May this water that brings the curse pass into your bowels and make your womb swell and your thigh fall away.' And the woman shall say, 'Amen, Amen.
  33. Cross References
    Psalms 109:6
    Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
    Psalms 109:29
    May my accusers be clothed with dishonor; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!
  34. Cross References
    Jeremiah 14:7
    Though our iniquities testify against us, act, O Lord, for your name's sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against you.
    Psalms 23:3
    He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
  35. Cross References
    Psalms 69:16
    Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
    Psalms 63:3
    Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
  36. Cross References
    Psalms 109:16
    For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
  37. Cross References
    Psalms 102:11
    My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
  38. Cross References
    Exodus 10:19
    And the Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt.
    Nehemiah 5:13
    I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, "So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied." And all the assembly said "Amen" and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.
    Job 38:13
    That it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it?
  39. Cross References
    Psalms 35:13
    But I, when they were sick - I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my chest.
  40. Cross References
    Job 16:8
    And he has shriveled me up, which is a witness against me, and my leanness has risen up against me; it testifies to my face.
  41. Cross References
    Psalms 22:6
    But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
    Psalms 69:19
    You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you.
  42. Cross References
    Psalms 22:7
    All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads.
  43. Cross References
    Psalms 119:86
    All your commandments are sure; they persecute me with falsehood; help me!
  44. Cross References
    Job 37:7
    He seals up the hand of every man, that all men whom he made may know it.
  45. Cross References
    2 Samuel 16:12
    It may be that the Lord will look on the wrong done to me, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing today.
  46. Cross References
    Isaiah 65:14
    Behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry out for pain of heart and shall wail for breaking of spirit.
  47. Cross References
    Psalms 109:18
    He clothed himself with cursing as his coat; may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones!
    Job 8:22
    Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more.
  48. Cross References
    Psalms 71:13
    May my accusers be put to shame and consumed; with scorn and disgrace may they be covered who seek my hurt.
    Psalms 35:26
    Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether who rejoice at my calamity! Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me!
  49. Cross References
    Psalms 22:25
    From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
  50. Cross References
    Psalms 109:6
    Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
    Psalms 16:8
    I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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