Prayer: Imprecatory

Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not regard their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.”

So please come now and put a curse on this people, because they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land; for I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed.” …

And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’

How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the LORD has not denounced?

He crouches, he lies down like a lion, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? Blessed are those who bless you and cursed are those who curse you.”

Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his hands together and said to Balaam, “I summoned you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times.

When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.

Are not these mountains across the Jordan, west of the road toward the sunset, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah opposite Gilgal near the Oak of Moreh?

On that day Moses commanded the people: …

Bless his substance, O LORD, and accept the work of his hands. Smash the loins of those who rise against him, and of his foes so they can rise no more.”

All Israel, foreigners and citizens alike, with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded earlier, to bless the people of Israel.

Afterward, Joshua read aloud all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—according to all that is written in the Book of the Law.

Then Samson called out to the LORD: “O Lord GOD, please remember me. Strengthen me, O God, just once more, so that with one vengeful blow I may pay back the Philistines for my two eyes.”

But the king replied, “What have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah? If he curses me because the LORD told him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why did you do this?’” …

Hear us, O God, for we are despised. Turn their scorn back upon their own heads, and let them be taken as plunder to a land of captivity.

Do not cover up their iniquity or let their sin be blotted out from Your sight, for they have provoked the builders.

I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “May God likewise shake out of his house and possessions every man who does not keep this promise. May such a man be shaken out and have nothing!” The whole assembly said, “Amen,” and they praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.

After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. …

May my enemy be like the wicked and my opponent like the unjust.

Declare them guilty, O God; let them fall by their own devices. Drive them out for their many transgressions, for they have rebelled against You.

All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; they will turn back in sudden disgrace.

Lay terror upon them, O LORD; let the nations know they are but men. Selah

In pride the wicked pursue the needy; let them be caught in the schemes they devise.

Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call him to account for his wickedness until none is left to be found.

Surely none who wait for You will be put to shame; but those who engage in treachery without cause will be disgraced.

Repay them according to their deeds and for their works of evil. Repay them for what their hands have done; bring back on them what they deserve.

O LORD, let me not be ashamed, for I have called on You. Let the wicked be put to shame; let them lie silent in Sheol.

May lying lips be silenced—lips that speak with arrogance against the righteous, full of pride and contempt.

May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plan to harm me be driven back and confounded.

May ruin befall them by surprise; may the net they hid ensnare them; may they fall into the hazard they created.

May those who gloat in my distress be ashamed and confounded; may those who exalt themselves over me be clothed in shame and reproach.

May those who seek my life be ashamed and confounded; may those who wish me harm be repelled and humiliated.

May those who say to me, “Aha, aha!” be appalled at their own shame.

He will reward my enemies with evil. In Your faithfulness, destroy them.

O Lord, confuse and confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city.

Let death seize them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, for evil is with them in their homes.

In spite of such sin, will they escape? In Your anger, O God, cast down the nations.

May they vanish like water that runs off; when they draw the bow, may their arrows be blunted.

O LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, rouse Yourself to punish all the nations; show no mercy to the wicked traitors. Selah

Do not kill them, or my people will forget. Scatter them by Your power, and bring them down, O Lord, our shield.

They scavenge for food, and growl if they are not satisfied.

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A song. God arises. His enemies are scattered, and those who hate Him flee His presence.

As smoke is blown away, You will drive them out; as wax melts before the fire, the wicked will perish in the presence of God.

May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.

Pour out Your wrath upon them, and let Your burning anger overtake them.

Add iniquity to their iniquity; let them not share in Your righteousness.

May they be blotted out of the Book of Life and not listed with the righteous.

May those who seek my life be ashamed and confounded; may those who wish me harm be repelled and humiliated.

May those who say, “Aha, aha!” retreat because of their shame.

May the accusers of my soul be ashamed and consumed; may those who seek my harm be covered with scorn and disgrace.

Why should the nations ask, “Where is their God?” Before our eyes, make known among the nations Your vengeance for the bloodshed of Your servants.

Pay back into the laps of our neighbors sevenfold the reproach they hurled at You, O Lord.

Make them like tumbleweed, O my God, like chaff before the wind. …

Rise up, O Judge of the earth; render a reward to the proud.

When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayer be regarded as sin.

May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. …

Though they curse, You will bless. When they rise up, they will be put to shame, but Your servant will rejoice.

May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may they wear their shame like a robe.

May the arrogant be put to shame for subverting me with a lie; I will meditate on Your precepts.

How many days must Your servant wait? When will You execute judgment on my persecutors?

May all who hate Zion be turned back in shame.

May the heads of those who surround me be covered in the trouble their lips have caused.

May burning coals fall on them; may they be thrown into the fire, into the miry pits, never to rise again.

And in Your loving devotion, cut off my enemies. Destroy all who afflict me, for I am Your servant.

Flash forth Your lightning and scatter them; shoot Your arrows and rout them.

O LORD of Hosts, who judges righteously, who examines the heart and mind, let me see Your vengeance upon them, for to You I have committed my cause.

But You know me, O LORD; You see me and test my heart toward You. Drag away the wicked like sheep to the slaughter and set them apart for the day of carnage.

You understand, O LORD; remember me and attend to me. Avenge me against my persecutors. In Your patience, do not take me away. Know that I endure reproach for Your honor.

Let my persecutors be put to shame, but do not let me be put to shame. Let them be terrified, but do not let me be terrified. Bring upon them the day of disaster and shatter them with double destruction.

Therefore, hand their children over to famine; pour out the power of the sword upon them. Let their wives become childless and widowed; let their husbands be slain by disease, their young men struck down by the sword in battle. …

O LORD of Hosts, who examines the righteous, who sees the heart and mind, let me see Your vengeance upon them, for to You I have committed my cause.

Let all their wickedness come before You, and deal with them as You have dealt with me because of all my transgressions. For my groans are many, and my heart is faint.

You will pay them back what they deserve, O LORD, according to the work of their hands. …

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse!

As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be under a curse!

Alexander the coppersmith did great harm to me. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds.

You too should beware of him, for he has vigorously opposed our message.