The Blessing and Suffering of the Godly

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

41 Blessed is he who considers the [a]poor;
The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.
The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive,
And he will be blessed on the earth;
(A)You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.
The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness;
You will [b]sustain him on his sickbed.

I said, “Lord, be merciful to me;
(B)Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”
My enemies speak evil of me:
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
And if he comes to see me, he speaks [c]lies;
His heart gathers iniquity to itself;
When he goes out, he tells it.

All who hate me whisper together against me;
Against me they [d]devise my hurt.
“An[e] evil disease,” they say, “clings to him.
And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”
(C)Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted,
(D)Who ate my bread,
Has [f]lifted up his heel against me.

10 But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up,
That I may repay them.
11 By this I know that You are well pleased with me,
Because my enemy does not triumph over me.
12 As for me, You uphold me in my integrity,
And (E)set me before Your face forever.

13 (F)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 41:1 helpless or powerless
  2. Psalm 41:3 restore
  3. Psalm 41:6 empty words
  4. Psalm 41:7 plot
  5. Psalm 41:8 Lit. A thing of Belial
  6. Psalm 41:9 Acted as a traitor

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;
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.
The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;
    in his illness you restore him to full health.[b]

As for me, I said, “O Lord, (D)be gracious to me;
    (E)heal me,[c] for I have sinned against you!”
My enemies say of me in malice,
    “When will he die, and his name perish?”
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.
All who hate me whisper together about me;
    they imagine the worst for me.[d]

They say, “A deadly thing is poured out[e] on him;
    he will not rise again from where he lies.”
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

  1. Psalm 41:1 Or weak
  2. Psalm 41:3 Hebrew you turn all his bed
  3. Psalm 41:4 Hebrew my soul
  4. Psalm 41:7 Or they devise evil against me
  5. Psalm 41:8 Or has fastened

En lidandes bön

41 För körledaren. En psalm av David.

Lycklig är den som tar hand om den svage.
    Herren befriar honom på olyckans dag.
Herren skyddar honom och håller honom vid liv.
    I landet prisas hans lycka,
    och han utlämnas inte till sina fiender.
Herren vårdar honom på sjukbädden när han ligger sjuk,
    du låter honom återhämta sig från sjukdomen.

Jag sa: ”Herre, var nådig mot mig
    och gör mig frisk igen,
    för jag har syndat mot dig!”
Mina fiender säger elakt om mig:
    ”När ska han dö och hans namn utplånas?”
När någon kommer och besöker mig
    talar han falskt och samlar på ondska,
    för att sedan gå och sprida ut det.

Alla mina ovänner viskar tillsammans
    och tänker ut ont mot mig.
”Han har drabbats av en förfärlig sjukdom
    och kommer aldrig mer upp ur sängen där han ligger!”
10 Till och med min vän som jag litade på och som åt mitt bröd
    har lyft sin häl mot mig[a].

11 Herre, var mig nådig, hjälp mig upp!
    Låt mig ge dem vad de förtjänar!
12 Då vet jag att du älskar mig,
    om min fiende inte får triumfera över mig.
13 Du upprätthåller min integritet
    och låter mig vara i din närhet för evigt.

14 Välsignad är Herren, Israels Gud,
    från evighet till evighet.
Amen, amen!

Footnotes

  1. 41:10 ”Att äta någons bröd” syftar på en nära gemenskap (måltidsgemenskap), ”att lyfta ens häl” mot någon att vända sig mot denne, bli en aktiv motståndare.