Psalm 41
English Standard Version
O Lord, Be Gracious to Me
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
41 (A)Blessed is the one who considers the poor![a]
    (B)In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;
2 the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;
    he is called blessed in the land;
    you (C)do not give him up to the will of his enemies.
3 The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;
    in his illness you restore him to full health.[b]
4 As for me, I said, “O Lord, (D)be gracious to me;
    (E)heal me,[c] for I have sinned against you!”
5 My enemies say of me in malice,
    “When will he die, and his name perish?”
6 And when one comes to see me, (F)he utters empty words,
    while his heart gathers iniquity;
    when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
7 All who hate me whisper together about me;
    they imagine the worst for me.[d]
8 They say, “A deadly thing is poured out[e] on him;
    he will not rise again from where he lies.”
9 Even my (G)close friend in whom I trusted,
    who (H)ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
10 But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
    and raise me up, that I may repay them!
11 By this I know that (I)you delight in me:
    my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
12 But (J)you have upheld me because of (K)my integrity,
    and (L)set me in your presence (M)forever.
13 (N)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.
Footnotes
- Psalm 41:1 Or weak
- Psalm 41:3 Hebrew you turn all his bed
- Psalm 41:4 Hebrew my soul
- Psalm 41:7 Or they devise evil against me
- Psalm 41:8 Or has fastened
Psalm 41
New International Reader's Version
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
41 Blessed are those who care about weak people.
    When they are in trouble, the Lord saves them.
2 The Lord guards them and keeps them alive.
    They are counted among those who are blessed in the land.
    The Lord won’t hand them over to the wishes of their enemies.
3 The Lord will take care of them when they are lying sick in bed.
    He will make them well again.
4 I said, “Lord, have mercy on me.
    Heal me, because I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies are saying bad things about me.
    They say, “When will he die and his name be forgotten?”
6 When one of them comes to see me,
    he says things that aren’t true.
At the same time, he thinks up lies to tell against me.
    Then he goes out and spreads those lies around.
7 All my enemies whisper to each other about me.
    They want something terrible to happen to me.
8 They say, “He is sick and will die very soon.
    He will never get up from his bed again.”
9 Even my close friend, someone I trusted, has failed me.
    I even shared my bread with him.
10 But Lord, may you have mercy on me.
    Make me well, so I can pay them back.
11 Then I will know that you are pleased with me,
    because my enemies haven’t won the battle over me.
12 You will take good care of me because I’ve been honest.
    You will let me be with you forever.
13 Give praise to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    for ever and ever.
Amen and Amen.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
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