1From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me.Let all Israel repeat this:
2From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me,but they have never defeated me.
3My back is covered with cuts,as if a farmer had plowed long furrows.
4But the LORD is good;he has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly.
5May all who hate Jerusalembe turned back in shameful defeat.
6May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop,turning yellow when only half grown,
7ignored by the harvester,despised by the binder.
8And may those who pass byrefuse to give them this blessing:“The LORD bless you;we bless you in the LORD’s name.”