Preface: David, because of his position of power, was plagued by those who wanted his power. I have assumed in this psalm that the circumstances are: (1) one of David’s sons wants his power and has a number of followers who agree; and (2) this takes place at a time when David is very sick. The psalm is all about the interplay between David, his enemies and how God fits into this picture.

The Bible Summary of Psalm 109 (in 140 characters or less): Do not be silent, O God. For wicked mouths speak against me. May his name be blotted out! Let curses come upon him! Help me, O LORD.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Psalm. This will be the most extensive examination of Psalm 109, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

Outline of Chapter 109:

Introduction

The Superscription

         vv.     1–5           David’s Enemies Who Surround Him

         vv.     6–20         David’s Imprecatory Prayer Regarding One Particular Enemy

         vv.    21–25         David’s Sickness

         vv.    26–29         David Calls for God to Act Against His Accusers

         vv.    30–31         David Praises God

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Psalm 109 (by various commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Psalm 109 (various commentators)

         Introduction         The Occasion of Psalm 109

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Psalm 109

         Introduction         The Prequel of Psalm 109

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Principals of Psalm 109

         Introduction         The Places of Psalm 109

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Psalm 109

         Introduction         Outlines of Psalm 109 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         929 Synopsis of Psalm 109 (Rabbi Dr. David Z. Moster)

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Psalm 109 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction         The Headlines of Modern Translation for Psalm 109

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions (for Psalm 109)

         Introduction 

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         v.       1              God (from the Catholic Encyclopedia)

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         v.       6              Who is asking for harm to come to his enemy (enemies)?

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         v.       8              Does Acts 1:20 fulfill Psalm 109:8?

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         v.      20              Is David imprecating his adversary or are his adversaries imprecating him?

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         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Psalm 109 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Psalm 109

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Psalm 109

         Summary 

         Addendum          The Peshitta (mostly from Wikipedia)

         Addendum          The Pronunciation of Jehovah (from Catholic Online)

         Addendum          How Should We Deal with the Pronunciation of YHWH?

         Addendum          The Actual Pronunciation of God's Name

         Addendum 

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Psalm 109

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Psalm 109

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Psalm 109

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Psalm 109

         Addendum 

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An Introduction to Psalm 109

I ntroduction: David, throughout his life, suffered many attacks and persecutions. Psalm 109 is one of those psalms which describes such a situation. The very nature of David’s position as king over Israel, would automatically cause men to turn against him. The very best leader has opposition. Many times that person’s opposition is based on the thinnest of reasons, but the desire for power will make that leader the object of scorn from those who want his power.

In this psalm, it appears that there is one primary enemy of David. There are times when David speaks against a group of accusers (vv. 2–5, 15, 20, 25) and times when he appears to be speaking of an individual (vv. 6–14, 16–19). In general, we might see this in two ways: (1) this is about a particular person who stands against David, but he has followers with him; or (2) this is a group of people and David sometimes speaks of them individually as to what he would like to see God do against them. #1 is most likely, as people as a group do not tend to rise up against a king unless they have a substitute for the king rising up with them.

I believe that David’s enemies, in this psalm, are one of his sons and the supporters of this son. The evidence for this point of view is not overwhelming, but I find reasonable confirmation of this point of view in vv. 4–5. All of the psalm can be understood and interpreted with this assumption without doing damage to the psalm itself. David collected a number of wives before becoming king, and certainly after (I forget the exact number; perhaps 10 or so?). And he had sons by these wives. Each son is potentially David’s successor, and each wife would want to see her son on the throne (which is not unreasonable as, a son not on the throne is a potential threat to the throne). I suggested two possible general interpretations for David’s enemies in this psalm (in the previous paragraph); if this is about one man and his followers, then that understanding would also point to one of David’s sons.

There is another possibility, but this would have taken place early in David’s reign. It seems like Saul had some remaining sons to whom David showed grace. Had any of them wanted to be king over David (seems to me that one of them did), this psalm could be applied to that person (and his supporters) in essentially the same way.

Saul’s son, Ish-bosheth, continued to reign in northern Israel when David was named king in Judah. Although there was pretty much a civil war going on between these two men in 2Samuel 1–4 [see Samuel Links (HTML) (PDF) (WPD)], this psalm does not appear to me to represent this period of time (for one thing, David does not appear to be ill during this time).

Logically, the only people who would be looking to remove David’s throne from him would be one of his own sons or a son of Saul.

David is also in a clearly weakened state. In vv. 22–24, he appears to be in poor physical health (David did have a few health issues throughout his life, as is attested to in a few of the psalms). When a king is ailing in any way, this would certainly be a time for one or more of his detractors to strike out against him.

Throughout this psalm, David looks to God as his Deliverer (vv. 21, 26–27), and it is quite apparent that God is not delivering David as quickly as David would like (hence the writing of this psalm). When David speaks of what ought to happen to his opposition, it seems that ought to be interpreted as prayer to God (vv. 6–15, 17–20, 28–29) V. 15 is clearly directed towards God.

It certainly occurred to me that this psalm might be prophetic of the Lord Jesus and that David might be, in this situation, a type of Jesus (in fact, this is one of the reasons I decided to exegete this psalm). The people wagging their heads in derision (v. 25) certainly suggests this. However, the imagery suggesting David is typical of Jesus is far less apparent than we find in Psalm 22 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

What would distinguish a psalm of David about his life from a Messianic psalm (which is also about his life)? I would say frequency of references as well as quotations of the psalm in the New Testament. If there are but one or two references which strongly point to the Messiah, that may not be enough. When there are, say, 6 or 7 references (or more), that would indicate that we are studying a Messianic psalm.

Application: Psalm 109 is known as an imprecatory psalm because David calls for God to do a lot of really bad things to his enemy (or enemies). This is, no doubt, something which can cause a Christian some confusion. Do we forgive our enemies? Or do we ask that God beat them down? Let me suggest the answer is, yes.

Application: First of all, when it comes to people whom you come across in your lives, it is obvious that they are sinners, they may commits sins which you abhor, and they may commits multiple sins against you. We have to recognize that we are sinners as well, and Jesus died for them just as much as He died for us. So, much as we would like to see our enemies struck down by lightning, so that we have a lawn chair set up to watch, their anger, frustration and hatred is simply indicative of a soul filled with anger, frustration and hatred. We should not necessarily take it personally (that is so much easier to say that than it is to do).

Application: Nevertheless, having such a recognition should not eliminate our knowledge of the final judgments, where unbelievers are cast into the Lake of Fire. That is sobering indeed, not just when considering friends and relatives, but considering even enemies who stood against us.

Application: Let me suggest that the dividing line between forgiving our enemies and asking God to zap them is not how much they have worked against us, but where they are with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Although it may same like a novel idea, it is okay to witness to your enemy. It is okay to tell someone who comes after you about the grace of God found in His Son Jesus Christ. I would say their response might give you more justification for an imprecatory prayer against them.

Application: I also want you to keep in mind that your enemies cannot act against you apart from God’s okay. So, you might be super-mad at them, but are you equally mad at God? Hopefully not. David, in this psalm, does not appear to have a negative attitude towards God in any way, so neither should we.

Application: My goal in life, even as an unbeliever, was not to make enemies, but I have always had them. Now, it does not bother me if someone likes or dislikes me, but when someone works actively against me, I certainly find that to be disconcerting. However, it was this sort of thing which helped to move me from California to Texas. In retrospect, I am very grateful to God for that change, even though, at the time, the necessity for the move saddened me. Turns out that this was the best thing that ever could have happened to me. Studying this psalm causes me to look back at the person who wrote a fairly negative review of my teaching skills (she said that I was far better suited to teach in a private Christian school) and recognize that I ought to thank her. I must admit that, at the time, when I found out about her recommendation, I was none too pleased. This is probably stood in my way of getting a full-time job in California, but I had no problem getting a teaching job in Texas. This is one personal example from my own life, but I could have been quite a number of situations where people worked against me, and yet, the end result was very beneficial to me (and, quite frankly, I am glossing over some areas where I may have been at fault in developing some of these enemies).

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The Superscription

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac (= Aramaic) and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

The comparisons which I do are primarily between the English translations which are taken from the ancient tongues. For the most part, the variances are so minor that I rarely investigate them any further than that.

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. From http://www.becomingjewish.org/texts/targum/onkelos_Psalm.html and first published in 1862.

Occasionally, there is an obvious error in the English translation, and I correct those without additional mention or footnoting. For instance, the online version of the Targum of Onkelos which I use has gorund in Ex. 4:9; I simply corrected the text. This may occur once or twice in a chapter.

I attempt to include translations which are different in their vocabulary and phrasing. On many occasions, I may include a translation which is not substantially different than another listed translation.

Most of the translations can be found here.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        To the Preeminent One; regarding David. A mizmor.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

The Psalms Targum              For praise, composed by David; a psalm.

Updated Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) Unto the end, a psalm for David.

Plain English Aramaic Bible   .

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        .

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     None given

Original Aramaic Psalms        None given

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Updated Brenton (Greek)       For the end, A Psalm of David.

Greek Text Bible                    Into the completion; the Dabid; a psalm.

Significant differences:           The Latin and Greek both suggest that this reads a psalm of David; but that is not how it reads in the Hebrew. I nearly always base these comparisons upon the English translations from the Greek, Latin and Syriac (although I don’t have any trouble dealing with the Greek, the Latin and Syriac are not languages that I am comfortable with). However, now and again, I go back and check the Greek text specifically, and it does not have a psalm of David.

However, both the Latin and Greek have to the end, to the completion. The targum has for praise. The Hebrew has, to the Preeminent One. The capitalization, by the way, is mine; the Greek and Hebrew do not have a special meaning assigned to capitalized letters. The Hebrew has no capital letters; and the Greek NT manuscripts are written in all caps (which I believe was common in the era).

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             To the chief music-maker. Of David. A Psalm.

Easy English                          David wrote this psalm for the music leader.

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  To the director: A praise song of David.

God’s Word™                         .

Good News Bible (TEV)         None given

The Message                         None given

Names of God Bible               .

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              ([Psalm of David])

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             For the music leader: A psalm of David.¹

                                               ¹109:1        The subtitle wasn’t part of the original psalm. And the possible byline “of David,” isn’t necessarily a byline. The vague phrase could mean the song was written by David, about David, or was inspired by David. Almost half of the psalms are attributed to David in this way, 73 of 150. Ancient Jewish history tells of David playing a lyre and writing songs. For one, he wrote a song of mourning at the battlefield death of King Saul and his sons: “How have the mighty fallen!” (2 Samuel 1:19-27 New American Standard Bible). An ancient Jewish scroll from about the time of Jesus, discovered among the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, reports that David wrote 3,600 songs.

College Press paraphrase     .

Contemporary English V.       (A psalm by David for the music leader.)

The Living Bible                     None given

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           .

The Passion Translation        To the Pure and Shining One. A poetic song by King David.

Unfolding Bible (simplified)    A psalm written by David for the choir director.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          .

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       (To the choir-master. Of David. A psalm.)

Translation for Translators     A psalm written by David for the choir director

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Berean Study Bible                .

Conservapedia                       .

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                By David, to his Bandmaster.

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           To the chaunter, a Psalm of David.

HCSB                                     .

International Standard V        To the Director. A Davidic psalm.

Lexham English Bible            A Prayer for Help against Enemies

For the music director. A psalm of David.

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Bible Literal Text    .

Urim-Thummim Version         .

Wikipedia Bible Project          .

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  None offered

The Heritage Bible                 .

New American Bible (2002)             .

New American Bible(2011)    .

New English Bible–1970        .

New Jerusalem Bible             [For the choirmaster Of David Psalm]

New RSV                               .

Revised English Bible–1989   For the leader: for David: a psalm

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. A psalm of David:

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Hebraic Roots Bible               .

Israeli Authorized Version      .

The Scriptures 2009              None given

Tree of Life Version                For the music director, a psalm of David.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            .

Awful Scroll Bible                   .

Concordant Literal Version    Davidic Psalm

exeGeses companion Bible   To His Eminence: A Psalm by David.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           For the one directing

Of Dovid

Mizmor.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. To the Chief Musician. David’s. A Melody.

Third Millennium Bible            .

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                .

The Expanded Bible              For the director of music. A psalm of David.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    To the chief musician, for use in the liturgical part of worship, a psalm of David, in which he indeed may have reference to conditions of his own time, in his relation to Doeg, to Ahithophel, or to Shimei, but which at the same time is prophetical and typical of the relation in which Christ stood to the Jews and especially to Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him. This is evident from the remarks of Peter at the election of Matthias, Acts 1:16-Proverbs :.

The Pulpit Commentary 

Syndein/Thieme                     

The Voice                               For the worship leader. A song of David.

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

College Press Bible Study     .

The Complete Tanach           For the conductor. Of David, a song. O God of my praise, be not silent.

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kaplan Translation                 .

Lexham English Bible            A Prayer for Help against Enemies

For the music director. A psalm of David. [The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm]

NET Bible®                             .

New American Bible(2011)    Chapter 109*

For the leader. A psalm of David.

* [Psalm 109] A lament notable for the length and vehemence of its prayer against evildoers (Ps 109:6–20); the cry to God (Ps 109:1) and the complaint (Ps 109:22–25) are brief in comparison. The psalmist is apparently the victim of a slander campaign, potentially devastating in a society where reputation and honor are paramount. In the emotional perspective of the Psalm, there are only two types of people: the wicked and their poor victims. The psalmist is a poor victim (Ps 109:22, 31) and by that fact a friend of God and enemy of the wicked. The psalmist seeks vindication not on the basis of personal virtue but because of God’s promise to protect the poor.

New Catholic Bible                 For the director.^[b] A psalm of David.

                                               b.      For the director: these words are thought to be a musical or liturgical notation.

The Passion Translation        .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

A Faithful Version                  .

Bond Slave Version               .

C. Thompson LXX (updated) .

Charles Thompson OT           For the conclusion. A Psalm by David.

Context Group Version          .

Green’s Literal Translation    .

Literal Standard Version        TO THE OVERSEER. A PSALM OF DAVID.

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version 2020  None given.

New American Standard B.    .

New European Version          .

New King James Version       .

Niobi Study Bible                   Plea for Judgment of False Accusers; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

Owen's Translation                .

Revised Mechanical Trans.    .

Updated Bible Version 2.17   .

A Voice in the Wilderness      .

Webster’s Bible Translation  .

World English Bible                For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young's Updated LT              .

The gist of this passage:     David possibly dedicates this psalm to the chief musician; and possibly to God.

Translation: For the Preeminent One.

This verbal noun is the Piel participle of nâtsach (נָצַח) [pronounced naw-TZAHKH]; and it means, to oversee, to supervise to be; preeminent, to be enduring; the Preeminent One. Strong’s #5329 BDB #663.

Each psalm was, no doubt, placed into the hands of the chief musician or choir director. But, ultimately, this psalm was dedicate to the Revealed God.

Translation: Concerning David.

David is the author of the psalm but he presented his psalms using the lâmed preposition, which can mean, to, for, towards; in (with) regards to; with reference to, as to, concerning; belonging to. No Strong’s # BDB #510. I think we primarily can see this psalm as referencing David or concerning him and his life.

David would not be understood to be in the construct here, so this is not a psalm of David.

Translation: A Psalm.

The word found here is miz^emôwr (מִזְמוֹר) [pronounced miz-MOHR], a very common word in the psalms. It means, melody, song, poem, psalm. Strong’s #4210 BDB #274.

Psalm 109 superscription For the Preeminent One. Concerning David. A Psalm.

Sometimes, we are given some background information in the superscript which helps us to place the psalm during the life of David. This superscription provides no such clues.

Psalm 109 superscription A Psalm by David for God.

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David's Enemies Who Surround Him

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        Elohim of my praise, You will not be silent; for a mouth of malevolent and a mouth of deceit against me were opened; they have spoken with me a tongue of lying. And words of hatred they have encircled me; and so they engage in war with me without cause.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Targum (Onkelos)                  .

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Aramaic Targum                    .

The Psalms Targum              O God, my praise, do not be silent.

For the mouth of wickedness and the mouth of deceit are open against me, they have spoken with me [with] a lying tongue.

And those who speak hatred have surrounded me, and fought against me for no cause.

Updated Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) O God, be not thou silent in my praise:

For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful man is opened against me.

They have spoken against me with deceitful tongues; and they have compassed me about with words of hatred; and have fought against me without cause.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        .

Original Aramaic Psalms        God of my praise, do not be silent!

Because the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceiver is opened against me; they have spoken with me with a false tongue.

With the voice of hatred they have contended with me for nothing.

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Plain English Aramaic Bible   .

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     HOLD not thy peace, O God of my praise; For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me; hey have spoken against me with a lying tongue and with a hateful voice, and have fought against me without a cause.

Samaritan Pentateuch           .

Updated Brenton (Greek)       O God, pass not over my praise in silence;

for the mouth of the sinner and the mouth of the crafty have been opened against me; they have spoken against me with a crafty tongue.

And they have compassed me with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.

Significant differences:           Both the Greek and Latin have against me rather than with me; but this could be a matter of the English translation from those languages.

In the final verse, the word encompassed, surround is apparently not found in the Syriac. In the final phrase, the Syriac has contend rather than the stronger fought against (the Lamsa Peshitta has fought against).

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             God of my praise, let my prayer be answered; 

For the mouth of the sinner is open against me in deceit: his tongue has said false things against me. 

Words of hate are round about me; they have made war against me without cause.

Easy English                          A prayer for help in trouble

You are the God that I praise.

Let me hear you speak!

Wicked people are saying bad things against me.

They are telling lies about me.

They are all round me,

and they say cruel things.

I have done nothing against them,

but they still attack me.

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  God, I praise you! Hear my prayer and do something!

Wicked people are telling lies about me. They are saying things that are not true.

They are saying hateful things about me. They are attacking me for no reason.

God’s Word™                         .

They surround me with hateful words. They fight against me for no reason.

Good News Bible (TEV)         I praise you, God; don't remain silent!

Wicked people and liars have attacked me. They tell lies about me,

and they say evil things about me, attacking me for no reason.

The Message                         My God, don’t turn a deaf ear to my hallelujah prayer.

Liars are pouring out invective on me;

Their lying tongues are like a pack of dogs out to get me,

barking their hate, nipping my heels—and for no reason!

Names of God Bible               O Elohim, whom I praise, do not turn a deaf ear to me.

Wicked and deceitful people have opened their mouths against me.

They speak against me with lying tongues.

They surround me with hateful words.

They fight against me for no reason.

NIRV                                      God, I praise you.

Don’t remain silent.

Sinful people who lie and cheat have spoken against me.

They have used their tongues to tell lies about me.

They gather all around me with their words of hatred.

They attack me without any reason.

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             SAVE ME FROM THE LIARS

I’m under attack by liars

You are the only God I praise.

Please don’t give me the silent treatment.

Some terrible people are lying about me.

They’re attacking me with lies.

For no reason,

They’re assaulting me with hateful words.

They follow me wherever I go.

I can’t get away from them.

College Press paraphrase     .

Contemporary English V.       I praise you, God! Don't keep silent.

Destructive and deceitful lies are told about me,

and hateful things are said for no reason.

The Living Bible                     O God of my praise, don’t stand silent and aloof while the wicked slander me and tell their lies. They have no reason to hate and fight me, yet they do

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    A Man in Trouble

I give praise to You, O God. Do not be quiet. For sinners and liars have opened their mouths against me. They have spoken against me with lying tongues. They have gathered around me with words of hate. They fought against me for no reason.

New Living Translation           O God, whom I praise,

don’t stand silent and aloof

while the wicked slander me

and tell lies about me.

They surround me with hateful words

and fight against me for no reason.

The Passion Translation        God, It’s Time for Vengeance

God of all my praise, don’t stand silently by, aloof to my pain, 

while the wicked slander me with their lies. Even right in front of my face they lie through their teeth. 

I’ve done nothing to them, but they still surround me with their venomous words of hatred and vitriol.

Unfolding Bible Simplified      God, you are the one whom I praise, so please answer my prayer  

because wicked people slander me and tell lies about me.  

They are constantly saying that they hate me, and they harm me for no reason.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          O God of my praise, don’t stay silent,

For sinners and liars have spoken against me.

They speak against me with deceitful tongues,

And I’m covered with their hateful words.

They battle with me for no reason…

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           God of my praise, don’t keep quiet,

because the mouths of wicked liars

have opened up against me,

talking about me with lying tongues.

Hateful words surround me;

they attack me for no reason.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       God that guardest my renown, do not leave me unbefriended; there are malicious lips, treacherous lips, that decry me; whispering against me, hedging me about with a conspiracy of hatred, in unprovoked attack.

Translation for Translators     God, you are the one whom I praise,

So please answer my prayer,

because wicked people slander me

and tell [MTY] lies about me.

They are constantly saying that they hate me,

and they say evil things about me for no reason.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Berean Study Bible                .

Conservapedia Translation    .

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  My GOD! when I pray be not silent;

Against me the wicked and bad open mouth,

With false tongue about me they speak,

And with venomous words they surround,

And assail me without any cause!.

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

HCSB                                     Prayer against an Enemy

God of my praise, do not be silent.

For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me;

they speak against me with lying tongues.

They surround me with hateful words

and attack me without cause.

International Standard V        God, whom I praise,

do not be silent,

for the mouths of wicked and deceitful people

are opened against me;

they speak against me with lying tongues.

They surround me with hate-filled words,

attacking me for no reason.

H. C. Leupold                         .

Lexham English Bible            .

NIV, ©2011                             .

Peter Pett’s translation          .

Unfolding Bible Literal Text    .

Urim-Thummim Version         O Elohim of my praise;

Because the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.

They encircled me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.

Wikipedia Bible Project          .

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Have no pity for them. Someone who only had words of friendship has been accused and slandered. He asks justice from God who does not forsake his own. God will show no mercy for those who are merciless.

Break your silence, O God whom I praise, now that the wicked and deceitful hurl their false accusations at me. 28:1; 35:22

They assail me with words of hatred; they attack me for no valid cause. 69:5

The Heritage Bible                 Oh God of my praise, do not remain silent,

Because the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me; they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.

And they surrounded me with words of hate; and devoured against me without cause.

New American Bible (2002)   .

New American Bible (2011)   I

²O God, whom I praise, do not be silent,^a

for wicked and treacherous mouths attack me.

They speak against me with lying tongues;

³with hateful words they surround me,

attacking me without cause.

⁴In return for my love they slander me,

even though I prayed for them. [Because of the superscription, the NAB along with many other Bibles are a verse staggered from most other translations.]

a. [109:2] Ps 35:22; 83:1.

New English Bible–1970        O God of my praise, be silent no longer,

for wicked men heap calumnies upon me.

They have lied to my face

and ringed me round with words of hate.

They have attacked me without a cause prob. rdg, Heb adds in return for my love

and accused me though I have done nothing unseemly though ... unseemly: prob. rdg, Heb obscure. V. 4 is included for context.

New Jerusalem Bible             God whom I praise, do not be silent!

Wicked and deceiving words are being said about me, false accusations are cast in my teeth.

Words of hate fly all around me, though I give no cause for hostility.

Cause: (Greek aitía, aítion, Latin causa, French cause, German Ursache; from the Latin both the Italian term cosa and the French chose, meaning "thing", are derived).

Cause, as the correlative of effect, is understood as being that which in any way gives existence to, or contributes towards the existence of, any thing; which produces a result; to which the origin of any thing is to be ascribed. The term cause is also employed in several other suppositions, philosophical, scientific, legal, etc., to which reference will be made in the course of the present article. The description just given is that of cause taken in the philosophical sense, as well as in its ordinary signification in popular language, for, strictly speaking, cause, being a transcendental, cannot receive a logical definition. It is that also commonly advanced as a preliminary to the investigation of the nature of causality, in the schools. Although the ideas of cause and of causality are quite obviously among the most familiar that we possess, since they are involved in every exercise of human reasoning, and are presupposed in every form of argument and by every practical action, a very great vagueness attaches to the popular concept of them and a correspondingly great ambiguity is to be found in the use of the terms expressing them. In view of this fact, it will be necessary to clear the ground traversed in the main portion of the present article by stating that it is concerned, not so much in treating of individual causes considered in the concrete, as with the analysis of the idea of causality underlying and involved in that of every cause. There is also a psychological, as well as a metaphysical, aspect of the subject, which ought not to be lost sight of, especially in that part of the article in which the more recent speculations with regard to causality are touched upon.

New RSV ACE                       Prayer for Vindication and Vengeance

Do not be silent, O God of my praise.

For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,

speaking against me with lying tongues.

They beset me with words of hate,

and attack me without cause.

Revised English Bible–1989   GOD to whom I offer praise, do not be silent,

for the wicked have heaped calumnies upon me. They have lied to my face

and encompassed me on every side with words of hatred. They have assailed me without cause;

in return for my love they denounced me, though I have done nothing wrong. V. 4 is included for context.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           God, whom I praise, don’t remain silent!

For wicked and deceitful men

have opened their mouths against me,

spoken against me with lying tongues,

surrounded me with hateful words,

and attacked me without cause.

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Hebraic Roots Bible               O Elohim of my praise, do not be silent;

for the mouth of the wicked, and the deceitful mouth, are opened against me; they spoke against me with a lying tongue.

And they hemmed me in with words of hating; and they fought against me without a cause.

The Israel Bible                      .

Israeli Authorized Version      .

Kaplan Translation                 O God of my praise, be not silent.

For the wicked and the deceitful have opened their mouth against me. They spoke to me with a lying tongue,

with hateful words surrounded me, and fought against me without cause.

The Scriptures–2009              O Elohim of my praise! 

For the mouth of the wrong And the mouth of the deceiver Have opened against me; They have spoken against me with a false tongue.

They have surrounded me with words of hatred, And they attack me without a cause.

Tree of Life Version                .

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            O THEOS (The Alpha & Omega), PASS NOT OVER MY PRAISE IN SILENCE;

FOR THE MOUTH OF THE SINNER AND THE MOUTH OF THE CRAFTY MAN HAVE BEEN OPENED AGAINST ME: THEY HAVE SPOKEN AGAINST ME WITH A CRAFTY TONGUE.

AND THEY HAVE COMPASSED ME WITH WORDS OF HATRED; AND FOUGHT AGAINST ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.

Awful Scroll Bible                   Is you to be silent, he of mighty ones of my boast? -

For the mouth of they doomed, even the mouths casting to deceive are to have been opened against me, indeed are they to have been the speakers against me with a fraudulent tongue.

They are to have surrounded me with their concerns of hatred, and persist to emerge to fight against me without cause

Concordant Literal Version    O Elohim of my praise, do not be silent,

For a mouth of wickedness and a mouth of deceit They have opened against me; They have spoken against me with a tongue of falsehood;

With words of hatred, they have surrounded me, And they fight against me gratuitously."

exeGeses companion Bible   Hush not, O Elohim of my halal;

for the mouth of wickedness

and the mouth of deceit open against me:

they word against me with a false tongue;

they surround me with words of hatred;

and fight against me gratuitously:...

Orthodox Jewish Bible           Hold not Thy peace, O Elohei tehillati;

For the mouth of the rasha and the mouth of the mirmah are opened against me; they have spoken against me with a leshon sheker (a lying tongue).

They surrounded me also with divrei sinah (words of hatred); and attacked me without cause.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                .

The Expanded Bible              A Prayer Against an Enemy

God, I praise you.

Do not be silent.

·Wicked [^L The mouth of evil] people and ·liars [^L the mouth of deceivers] have ·spoken [^L opened] against me;

they ·have told lies about me [^L speak against me with lying tongues].

They have ·said hateful things about me [^L surrounded me with hateful words]

and attack me for no reason.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Verses 1-31

Lament of the Righteous Against Traitors and Enemies.

Hold not Thy peace, as if God's silence were an indication of His indifference, O God of my praise, the object of his praise, of whose help he was so sure that he could proclaim His glory even in advance;

for the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful, literally, "of deceit," said in an emphatic statement, are opened, that is, have the enemies opened, against me, as though in an effort to discredit him in court; they have spoken against me with a lying tongue, literally, "with a tongue of lies or falsehood," since their entire being was wrapped up in lying, since they knew nothing else.

They compassed me about also, coming against him from all sides, with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause, without his having given provocation to them.

Lexham English Bible            O God of my praise, do not keep silent,

for wicked and deceitful mouths [Literally “a wicked mouth and a deceitful mouth”]

have opened against me.

They speak to me with a lying tongue.

They also surround me with words of hate,

and fight me without cause.

The Pulpit Commentary 

Syndein/Thieme                     

The Voice                               O True God of my every praise, do not keep silent!

My enemies have opened their wicked, deceit-filled mouths and blown their foul breath on me.

They have slandered me with their twisted tongues

And unleashed loathsome words that swirl around me.

Though I have done nothing, they attack me.

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

College Press Bible Study     .

The Complete Tanach           For the mouth of a wicked man and the mouth of a deceitful man have opened upon me; they spoke with me with a lying tongue.

And with words of hatred they have surrounded me, and they have fought with me without cause.

The Geneva Bible                  .

NET Bible®                             Psalm 109¹

O God whom I praise, do not ignore me!²

For they say cruel and deceptive things to me;

they lie to me.³

They surround me and say hateful things;⁴

they attack me for no reason.

^1sn Psalm 109. Appealing to God’s justice, the psalmist asks God to vindicate him and to bring severe judgment down upon his enemies.

^2tn Heb “do not be deaf.”

^3tn Heb “for a mouth of evil and a mouth of deceit against me they open, they speak with me [with] a tongue of falsehood.”

^4tn Heb “and [with] words of hatred they surround me.”

New American Bible (2011)   .

New Catholic Bible                 Psalm 109^[a]

For the director.^[b] A psalm of David.

^[c]O God, whom I praise,

do not remain silent.

Wicked and deceitful men

have opened their mouths against me;^[d]

they have spoken against me with lying tongues.

They confront me with words of hatred

and assail me without cause.

                                               a.      Psalm 109:1 The Psalter contains other cries of hatred or revenge (Pss 9; 35; 137; 139), but none is harsher than this one (Ps 109:6-19). It is ordinarily attributed to the psalmist who has been speaking from the beginning of the psalm. However, an attentive examination of the context leads some scholars to attribute these imprecations to another person—most likely, the leader of the psalmist’s enemies. [This is an interesting theory. Although I reject it out of hand, I will keep it in mind as I work on this psalm.—GK]

It is a fact, of course, that in the East people enjoy exaggerated expressions, and it is also a fact that it was written before the Christian faith changed the harsh law of revenge or law of talion. But the Gospel itself contains curses (see Mt 23:13-26; Lk 6:24-26), and while it is true that Jesus and the apostles were able to forgive their enemies, they also saw the “ancient serpent” (Rev 12:9) at work against God’s will and for their destruction.

In taking up these imprecatory psalms, the Church invites Christians to commence an unceasing struggle against the spirit of evil (see Eph 6:12). Except for a few details, the formulas of this prayer were suitable for Jesus to express his own situation and sentiments and to describe the attitude and machinations of his enemies. In fact, the evangelists record that his enemies fulfilled certain passages to the letter (v. 25; see Mt 27:39; Mk 15:20).

                                               b.      Psalm 109:1 For the director: these words are thought to be a musical or liturgical notation.

                                               c.      Psalm 109:1 This psalmist has never said and done anything other than good; will betrayal, hatred, and slander be his recompense? Bitter is the calumny that crushes the righteous.

                                               d.      Psalm 109:2 Opened their mouths against me: see note on Ps 5:10.

The Passion Translation        .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. O God of my praise^ˎc do not be silent;

For ||the mouth of the lawless one and the mouth of the deceiver|| <against me> are open,

They have spoken to me with falseʹ tongue;

And <with words of hatred> have they surrounded me,

And have made war upon me without cause:...

^c Some cod. (w. Aram., Sep. and Vul.): “O God, my praise”— G.n.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

A Faithful Version                  .

Bond Slave Version               .

C. Thompson (updated) OT   .

Charles Thompson OT           GOD, pass not by my praise in silence:

for against me the mouth of a sinner; and the mouth of the deceitful is opened. They have spoken against me with a deceitful tongue.

With words of hatred they encompassed me about; and fought against me without provocation.

Context Group Version          Don't hold your peace, O God of my praise;

For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit they have opened against me: They have spoken to me with a lying tongue.

They have encompassed me about also with words of indifference, And fought against me without a cause.

English Standard Version      .

Green’s Literal Translation    .

Holy Bible Improved Edition   .

Literal Standard Version        O God of my praise, do not be silent,

For the mouth of wickedness, and the mouth of deceit, || They have opened against me, || They have spoken with me—A tongue of falsehood, and words of hatred!

They have surrounded me about, || And they fight me without cause.

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version 2020  Do not hold your peace, O God of my praise,

because they have opened against me the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit. They have spoken to me with a lying tongue.

They have also encompassed me about with words of hatred and fought against me without a cause.

New American Standard B.    Vengeance Invoked upon Adversaries.

God of my praise,

Do not be silent!

For they have opened a wicked and deceitful mouth [Lit wicked mouth and the deceitful] against me;

They have spoken against [Lit with] me with a lying tongue.

They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,

And have fought against me without cause.

New European Version          .

New King James Version       Plea for Judgment of False Accusers

Do not keep silent,

O God of my praise!

For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful

Have opened against me;

They have spoken against me with a lying tongue.

They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,

And fought against me.

Niobi Study Bible                   .

Owen's Translation                .

Revised Mechanical Trans.    ......

Updated Bible Version 2.17   .

A Voice in the Wilderness      .

Webster’s Bible Translation  .

World English Bible                God of my praise, don’t remain silent,

for they have opened the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit against me. They have spoken to me with a lying tongue.

They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause.

Young's Literal Translation     O God of my praise, be not silent,

For the mouth of wickedness, and the mouth of deceit, Against me they have opened, They have spoken with me--A tongue of falsehood, and words of hatred!

They have compassed me about, And they fight me without cause.

Young’s Updated LT             .

The gist of this passage:     This psalm is a prayer to God, for Him not to be silent. David faces men who speak evil and dishonest things about him. These men surround David and they are fighting against him without him giving them a reason to.

1-2

Translation: O Elohim of my (doctrinal) praise,...

David calls out to God. God is the God of David’s doctrinal praise. The word used here is t^ehillâh (תְּהִלָּה) [pronounced t^ehil-LAW], and it means, praise; praise which reveals [information, doctrine]; doctrinal praise; a revealing of information [doctrine] [by shining a light upon something]; that which has been revealed [by shining a light upon it]. This is not some empty-headed Christian walking around and repeating the phrase praise the Lord over and over again (which most of us have seen and heard). This is a person who understands God, and has a reason to praise Him. Strong’s #8416 BDB #239.

David understands God and he knows why God is worthy of praise. This may not seem like much, but how many believers have much of an understanding about Who and What God is?

Translation: ...do not be silent;...

David asks God not to be silent in this controversy. This does not mean that David expects God to call out to his enemies from the sky; but he does want God to act.

David understands enough about God to know that he is making a reasonable request of God.

Psalm 109:1 O Elohim of my (doctrinal) praise, do not be silent;...

Translation: ...for the mouth of the wicked [or, corrupt, lawless] one and the mouth of deception are open against me;...

There are men around David who are wicked, corrupt and lawless. They are deceptive. David probably occupies the highest office in the land at this point; and he appears to be surrounded by typical politicians.

Listen to virtually any politician, and he will tell you the worst things possible about his opponent.

Translation: ...they speak with me [with] lying tongues.

Most translations say that they speak against David with a lying tongue. However, the preposition used here does not mean against; it means with, at, near, by. So these are men who are around David, but they speak directly to him (as well as behind his back). They lie right to his face. Did I mention that he is surrounded by politicians?

Psalm 109:2 ...for the mouth of the wicked [or, corrupt, lawless] one and the mouth of deception are open against me; they speak with me [with] lying tongues.

Translation: [Their] words of hatred are all around me;...

These men clearly hate David, but, because they are liars, they do not say this directly to him. But their hatred swirls all around him. David knows what is going on.