Psalm 41-43

New Living Translation

Psalm 41

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

¹Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor!
    The Lord rescues them when they are in trouble.
²The Lord protects them
    and keeps them alive.
He gives them prosperity in the land
    and rescues them from their enemies.
³The Lord nurses them when they are sick
    and restores them to health.

⁴“O Lord,” I prayed, “have mercy on me.
    Heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
⁵But my enemies say nothing but evil about me.
    “How soon will he die and be forgotten?” they ask.
⁶They visit me as if they were my friends,
    but all the while they gather gossip,
    and when they leave, they spread it everywhere.
⁷All who hate me whisper about me,
    imagining the worst.
⁸“He has some fatal disease,” they say.
    “He will never get out of that bed!”
⁹Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely,
    the one who shared my food, has turned against me.

¹⁰Lord, have mercy on me.
    Make me well again, so I can pay them back!
¹¹I know you are pleased with me,
    for you have not let my enemies triumph over me.
¹²You have preserved my life because I am innocent;
    you have brought me into your presence forever.

¹³Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
who lives from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and amen!

Book two (Psalms 42–72)

Psalm 42

For the choir director: A psalm^[a] of the descendants of Korah.

¹As the deer longs for streams of water,
    so I long for you, O God.
²I thirst for God, the living God.
    When can I go and stand before him?
³Day and night I have only tears for food,
    while my enemies continually taunt me, saying,
    “Where is this God of yours?”

⁴My heart is breaking
    as I remember how it used to be:
I walked among the crowds of worshipers,
    leading a great procession to the house of God,
singing for joy and giving thanks
    amid the sound of a great celebration!

⁵Why am I discouraged?
    Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
    I will praise him again—
    my Savior and ⁶my God!

Now I am deeply discouraged,
    but I will remember you—
even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan,
    from the land of Mount Mizar.
⁷I hear the tumult of the raging seas
    as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.
⁸But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me,
    and through each night I sing his songs,
    praying to God who gives me life.

⁹“O God my rock,” I cry,
    “Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I wander around in grief,
    oppressed by my enemies?”
¹⁰Their taunts break my bones.
    They scoff, “Where is this God of yours?”

¹¹Why am I discouraged?
    Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
    I will praise him again—
    my Savior and my God!

Psalm 43

¹Declare me innocent, O God!
    Defend me against these ungodly people.
    Rescue me from these unjust liars.
²For you are God, my only safe haven.
    Why have you tossed me aside?
Why must I wander around in grief,
    oppressed by my enemies?
³Send out your light and your truth;
    let them guide me.
Let them lead me to your holy mountain,
    to the place where you live.
⁴There I will go to the altar of God,
    to God—the source of all my joy.
I will praise you with my harp,
    O God, my God!