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A Prayer in Sickness[a]

41 Happy are those who are concerned for the poor;
    the Lord will help them when they are in trouble.
The Lord will protect them and preserve their lives;
    he will make them happy in the land;
    he will not abandon them to the power of their enemies.
The Lord will help them when they are sick
    and will restore them to health.

I said, “I have sinned against you, Lord;
    be merciful to me and heal me.”
My enemies say cruel things about me.
    They want me to die and be forgotten.
Those who come to see me are not sincere;
    they gather bad news about me
    and then go out and tell it everywhere.
All who hate me whisper to each other about me,
    they imagine the worst about[b] me.
They say, “He is fatally ill;
    he will never leave his bed again.”
(A)Even my best friend, the one I trusted most,
    the one who shared my food,
    has turned against me.

10 Be merciful to me, Lord, and restore my health,
    and I will pay my enemies back.
11 They will not triumph over me,
    and I will know that you are pleased with me.
12 You will help me, because I do what is right;
    you will keep me in your presence forever.

13 (B)Praise the Lord, the God of Israel!
Praise him now and forever!

Amen! Amen!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 41:1 HEBREW TITLE: A psalm by David.
  2. Psalm 41:7 imagine the worst about; or make evil plans to harm.

41 (0) For the leader. A psalm of David:

(1) How blessed are those who care for the poor!
When calamity comes, Adonai will save them.
(2) Adonai will preserve them, keep them alive,
and make them happy in the land.
You will not hand them over
to the whims of their enemies.
(3) Adonai sustains them on their sickbed;
when they lie ill, you make them recover.
(4) I said, “Adonai, have pity on me!
Heal me, for I have sinned against you!”
(5) My enemies say the worst about me:
“When will he die and his name disappear?”
(6) When they come to see me they speak insincerely,
their hearts meanwhile gathering falsehoods;
then they go out and spread bad reports.
(7) All who hate me whisper together against me,
imagining the worst about me.
(8) “A fatal disease has attached itself to him;
now that he lies ill, he will never get up.”
10 (9) Even my close friend, on whom I relied,
who shared my table, has turned against me.

11 (10) But you, Adonai, have pity on me,
put me on my feet, so I can pay them back.
12 (11) I will know you are pleased with me
if my enemy doesn’t defeat me.
13 (12) You uphold me because of my innocence
you establish me in your presence forever.

14 (13) Blessed be Adonai the God of Isra’el
from eternity past to eternity future.

Amen. Amen.

41 1-3 Dignify those who are down on their luck;
    you’ll feel good—that’s what God does.
God looks after us all,
    makes us robust with life—
Lucky to be in the land,
    we’re free from enemy worries.
Whenever we’re sick and in bed,
    God becomes our nurse,
    nurses us back to health.

4-7 I said, “God, be gracious!
    Put me together again—
    my sins have torn me to pieces.”
My enemies are wishing the worst for me;
    they make bets on what day I will die.
If someone comes to see me,
    he mouths empty platitudes,
All the while gathering gossip about me
    to entertain the street-corner crowd.
These “friends” who hate me
    whisper slanders all over town.
They form committees
    to plan misery for me.

8-9 The rumor goes out, “He’s got some dirty,
    deadly disease. The doctors
    have given up on him.”
Even my best friend, the one I always told everything
    —he ate meals at my house all the time!—
    has bitten my hand.

10 God, give grace, get me up on my feet.
    I’ll show them a thing or two.

11-12 Meanwhile, I’m sure you’re on my side—
    no victory shouts yet from the enemy camp!
You know me inside and out, you hold me together,
    you never fail to stand me tall in your presence
    so I can look you in the eye.

13 Blessed is God, Israel’s God,
    always, always, always.
    Yes. Yes. Yes.