Psalms 109:1–3

¹UNTO thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.

¹KEEP not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.

²¹He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.

²The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

¹⁴I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.

²²This thou hast seen, O Lord: keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me.

²³Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and my Lord.

¹⁴Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

²⁸Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.

⁴Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.

¹⁷A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

²Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.

³What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?

¹MOREOVER Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night:

¹³And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:

⁵And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.

¹⁹The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.

¹³For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.

¹⁸Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

³And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee.

⁴Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice!

⁵And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him.

⁶And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

⁷¶ And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the Lord, in Hebron.

⁸For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If the Lord shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.

³And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord.

⁵⁹Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;

⁶⁰But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,

⁶¹And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.

⁶²And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?

²⁸The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.

³Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:

⁴That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.

³They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah.

⁴They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.

⁷For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul.

²⁴If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.

²⁵But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.

²⁰For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land.

¹⁷They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together.

⁴¶ And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good:

⁵For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the Lord wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?

¹⁸And he said, Wherefore doth my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in mine hand?

¹²And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counseller, from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom.

⁷And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial:

⁸The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man.

¹²Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints.

¹¹They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;

¹²Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.

³For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O Lord.

⁴They run and prepare themselves without my fault: awake to help me, and behold.