1 H old not thy peace, O God of my praise;

I give praise to You, O God. Do not be quiet.

2 F or the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit have they opened against me: They have spoken unto me with a lying tongue.

For sinners and liars have opened their mouths against me. They have spoken against me with lying tongues.

3 T hey have compassed me about also with words of hatred, And fought against me without a cause.

They have gathered around me with words of hate. They fought against me for no reason.

4 F or my love they are my adversaries: But I give myself unto prayer.

I give them my love but they speak against me in return. But I am in prayer.

5 A nd they have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love.

They pay me what is bad for what is good. They give me hate for my love.

6 S et thou a wicked man over him; And let an adversary stand at his right hand.

Let a sinful man have power over him. Let one who speaks against him stand at his right hand.

7 W hen he is judged, let him come forth guilty; And let his prayer be turned into sin.

When he is tried, let him be found guilty. And may his prayer become sin.

8 L et his days be few; And let another take his office.

Let his days be few. Let another person take over his work.

9 L et his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow.

Let his children be without a father. And let his wife be without a husband.

10 L et his children be vagabonds, and beg; And let them seek their bread out of their desolate places.

May his children go around begging. And may they look for food far from their destroyed homes.

11 L et the extortioner catch all that he hath; And let strangers make spoil of his labor.

Let the one to whom he owes money take all that he has. May strangers take away all he has worked for.

12 L et there be none to extend kindness unto him; Neither let there be any to have pity on his fatherless children.

May no one show him kindness. Let no one pity his children who have no father.

13 L et his posterity be cut off; In the generation following let their name be blotted out.

Let his children be cut off. Do not let their family name be remembered by the people-to-come.

14 L et the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with Jehovah; And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.

Let the sins of his fathers be remembered by the Lord, and do not let the sins of his mother be forgotten.

15 L et them be before Jehovah continually, That he may cut off the memory of them from the earth;

May these sins always be before the Lord. So He may not let them be remembered on the earth.

16 B ecause he remembered not to show kindness, But persecuted the poor and needy man, And the broken in heart, to slay them.

Because he did not remember to show loving-kindness. Instead he made it hard for the poor and those in need and those with a broken heart. He even put them to death.

17 Y ea, he loved cursing, and it came unto him; And he delighted not in blessing, and it was far from him.

He loved to curse others, so may it come to him. He did not like to have good come to others, so good was far from him.

18 H e clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment, And it came into his inward parts like water, And like oil into his bones.

He dressed himself with cursing as with a coat. They came into his body like water and into his bones like oil.

19 L et it be unto him as the raiment wherewith he covereth himself, And for the girdle wherewith he is girded continually.

May they be like clothing that covers him and like a belt that he always wears.

20 T his is the reward of mine adversaries from Jehovah, And of them that speak evil against my soul.

Let this be what the Lord pays to those who speak against me and wish bad things would happen to me.

21 B ut deal thou with me, O Jehovah the Lord, for thy name's sake: Because thy lovingkindness is good, deliver thou me;

But You, O God, the Lord, be kind to me because of Your name. Take me out of trouble because Your loving-kindness is good.

22 F or I am poor and needy, And my heart is wounded within me.

For I am in trouble and in need. And my heart is hurt within me.

23 I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.

I am passing like an evening shadow. I am shaken off like a locust.

24 M y knees are weak through fasting; And my flesh faileth of fatness.

My knees are weak from going without food. And my body has lost all its fat.

25 I am become also a reproach unto them: When they see me, they shake their head.

Others laugh at me. They look at me and shake their heads.

26 H elp me, O Jehovah my God; Oh save me according to thy lovingkindness:

Help me, O Lord my God! Save me by Your loving-kindness.

27 T hat they may know that this is thy hand; That thou, Jehovah, hast done it.

Let them know that this is Your hand and that You, O Lord, have done it.

28 L et them curse, but bless thou: When they arise, they shall be put to shame, But thy servant shall rejoice.

Let them hope that bad things will happen. But You make good things happen. Let them be ashamed when they rise up against me. But let Your servant be full of joy.

29 L et mine adversaries be clothed with dishonor, And let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.

Let those who speak against me be dressed with shame. Let them cover themselves with shame as with a coat.

30 I will give great thanks unto Jehovah with my mouth; Yea, I will praise him among the multitude.

I will give thanks to the Lord in a loud voice. I will praise Him among many people.

31 F or he will stand at the right hand of the needy, To save him from them that judge his soul.

For He stands at the right hand of the one in need to save him from those who judge his soul.