Psalm 41
New King James Version
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.
2 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.
3 The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness;
You will [b]sustain him on his sickbed.
4 I said, “Lord, be merciful to me;
(B)Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”
5 My enemies speak evil of me:
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
6 And if he comes to see me, he speaks [c]lies;
His heart gathers iniquity to itself;
When he goes out, he tells it.
7 All who hate me whisper together against me;
Against me they [d]devise my hurt.
8 “An[e] evil disease,” they say, “clings to him.
And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”
9 (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
- Psalm 41:1 helpless or powerless
- Psalm 41:3 restore
- Psalm 41:6 empty words
- Psalm 41:7 plot
- Psalm 41:8 Lit. A thing of Belial
- Psalm 41:9 Acted as a traitor
Psalm 41
The Voice
Psalm 41
For the worship leader. A song of David.
The first four books of Psalms end with a variation of the doxology found in verse 13: “Blessed is the Eternal, the True God of Israel. Always and Eternal. Amen and Amen.” This declaration not only provides a natural break—a seam—between the five books, but it also summarizes an essential theme of the psalms. You see, the Book of Psalms is primarily a book of praise to God for His creation, mercy, and salvation. Even when life is hard, our enemies strong, and our health poor, God can be praised for life itself and the ultimate victory to come for those who trust Him.
1 Blessed are those who consider the helpless.
The Eternal will stay near them, leading them to safety in times of bitter struggle.
2 The Eternal defends them and preserves them,
and His blessing will find them in the land He gave them.
He moves ahead to frustrate their enemies’ plans.
3 When sickness comes, the Eternal is beside them—
to comfort them on their sickbeds and restore them to health.
4 And me? I cry out to Him,
“Heal my soul, O Eternal One, and show mercy
because I have sinned against You!”
5 My enemies are talking about me even now:
“When will death come for him and his name be forgotten?”
6 As they sit with me under my roof, their well wishes are empty lies.
They listen to my story
and then turn it around to tell their own version on the street.
7 Across the city, crowds whisper lies about me.
Their hate is strong, and they search for ways to harm me.
8 Some are saying: “Some vile disease has gotten hold of him.
The bed he lies in will be his deathbed.”
9 Even my best friend, my confidant
who has eaten my bread will stab me in the back.[a]
10 But You, Eternal One, show mercy to me.
Extend Your gracious hand, and help me up.
I need to pay them back for what they’ve done to me.
11 I realize now that Your favor has come to me,
for my enemies have yet to declare victory over me.
12 You know and uphold me—a man of honor.
You grant me strength and life forever in Your presence.
13 Blessed is the Eternal, the True God of Israel.
Always and Eternal. Amen and Amen.
Footnotes
Salmos 41
Nueva Biblia de las Américas
Oración en enfermedad y en tristeza
Para el director del coro. Salmo de David.
41 Bienaventurado el que piensa en el pobre(A);
En el día del mal el Señor lo librará(B).
2 El Señor lo protegerá y lo mantendrá con vida(C),
Y será bienaventurado sobre la tierra(D).
Tú no lo entregarás a la voluntad de sus enemigos(E).
3 El Señor lo sostendrá en su lecho de enfermo;
En su enfermedad, restaurarás su salud.
4 Yo dije: «Oh Señor, ten piedad de mí;
Sana mi alma(F), porque contra Ti he pecado(G)».
5 Mis enemigos hablan mal contra mí(H), diciendo:
«¿Cuándo morirá y perecerá su nombre?».
6 Y si alguien viene a verme, habla falsedades(I);
Su corazón recoge iniquidad para sí;
Cuando sale fuera, lo publica.
7 Todos los que me odian murmuran a una contra mí;
Traman hacerme daño(J), diciendo:
8 «Una cosa del demonio[a] ha sido derramada sobre él,
Así que cuando se acueste, no volverá a levantarse(K)».
9 Aun mi íntimo amigo en quien yo confiaba,
El que de mi pan comía,
Contra mí ha levantado su talón(L).
10 Pero Tú, oh Señor, ten piedad de mí y levántame(M),
Para que yo les pague como se merecen.
11 En esto sabré que conmigo te complaces(N),
Que mi enemigo no cante victoria sobre mí(O).
12 En cuanto a mí, me mantienes en mi integridad(P),
Y me afirmas en Tu presencia para siempre(Q).
13 Bendito sea el Señor, Dios de Israel,
Desde la eternidad hasta la eternidad.
Amén y amén(R).
Footnotes
- Salmos 41:8 Heb. Belial.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
Nueva Biblia de las Américas™ NBLA™ Copyright © 2005 por The Lockman Foundation
