The Song of the Slandered

1Unto the end. A Psalm of David.

2O God, do not be silent toward my praise, for the mouth of the sinner and the mouth of the deceitful one have been opened against me.

3They have spoken against me with deceitful tongues, and they have surrounded me with hateful words, and they fought against me over nothing.

4Instead of choosing to act on my behalf, they detracted me. But I gave myself to prayer.

5And they set evil against me, instead of good, and hatred, in return for my love.

6Establish the sinner over him, and let the devil stand at his right hand.

7When he is judged, may he go forth in condemnation, and may his prayer be counted as sin.

8May his days be few, and let another take his episcopate.

9May his sons be orphans, and his wife a widow.

10May his sons be carried by those who walk unsteadily, and may they go begging. And may they be cast out of their dwelling places.

11May the money lenders scrutinize all his belongings, and let foreigners plunder his labors.

12May there be no one to assist him, nor anyone to be compassionate to his orphaned children.

13May his posterity be in utter ruin. In one generation, may his name be wiped away.

14May the iniquity of his fathers return in memory before the sight of the Lord, and do not let the sin of his mother be wiped away.

15May these be opposite the Lord always, but let their memory perish from the earth.

16For certain things are not remembered about them, in order to be merciful.

17And so the destitute man was pursued, with the beggar and the remorseful in heart, so as to be put to death.

18And he loved a curse, and it came to him. And he was unwilling to have a blessing, and it went far from him. And he clothed himself with curses like a garment, and it entered his inner self like water, and it entered his bones like oil.

19May it be to him like a garment that covers him, and like a belt that always cinches him.

20This is the work of those who detract me with the Lord and who speak evils against my soul.

21But as for you, Lord, O Lord: act on my behalf for your name’s sake. For your mercy is sweet.

22Free me, for I am destitute and poor, and my heart has been disquieted within me.

23I have been taken away like a shadow when it declines, and I have been shaken off like locusts.

24My knees have been weakened by fasting, and my flesh has been replaced by oil.

25And I have become a disgrace to them. They saw me, and they shook their heads.

26Help me, O Lord, my God. Save me according to your mercy.

27And let them know that this is your hand, and that you, O Lord, have done this.

28They will curse, and you will bless. May those who rise up against me be confounded. But your servant will rejoice.

29May those who detract me be clothed with shame, and may they be covered with their confusion, as if with a double cloak.

30I will confess exceedingly to the Lord with my mouth. And I will praise him in the midst of the multitude.

31For he stands at the right hand of the poor, in order to save my soul from persecutors.