Psalm 41

Victory in spite of Betrayal

For the choir director. A psalm of David.

Happy is one who is considerate of the poor;
the Lord will save him in a day of adversity.(A)
The Lord will keep him and preserve him;
he will be blessed in the land.(B)
You will not give him over to the desire of his enemies.(C)
The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed;
you will heal him on the bed where he lies.(D)

I said, “Lord, be gracious to me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you.”(E)
My enemies speak maliciously about me:
“When will he die and be forgotten?” (F)
When one of them comes to visit, he speaks deceitfully;
he stores up evil in his heart;
he goes out and talks.(G)
All who hate me whisper together about me;
they plan to harm me.(H)
“Something awful has overwhelmed him,[a]
and he won’t rise again from where he lies!” (I)
Even my friend[b] in whom I trusted,
one who ate my bread,
has raised his heel against me.(J)

10 But you, Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up;
then I will repay them.(K)
11 By this I know that you delight in me:(L)
my enemy does not shout in triumph over me.(M)
12 You supported me because of my integrity(N)
and set me in your presence forever.(O)

13 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and amen.(P)

Footnotes

  1. 41:8 Lit “A thing of worthlessness has been poured into him
  2. 41:9 Lit Even a man of my peace

Thanksgiving for God’s Provision in Time of Sickness

For the music director. A psalm of David.[a]

41 Blessed is the one who has regard for the poor;
in the day of disaster, Yahweh delivers him.
Yahweh protects him and keeps him alive;
he is blessed in the land,
and you do not give him
into the will[b] of his enemies.
Yahweh sustains him on his sick bed.
In his illness, you restore to health.[c]
As for me, I said, “O Yahweh, be gracious to me.
Heal me,[d] for I have sinned against you.”
My enemies speak evil about me,
“When will he die and his name perish?”
And when one comes to see me, he speaks falsely;
his heart gathers disaster for itself.
He goes out to the street; he speaks.
All who hate me speak together against me.
Against me they assume the worst[e] for me:
“A ruinous thing is poured out on him,
and now that he lies down, he will not rise up again.”
Even my close friend,[f] whom I trusted,
who ate my bread,
has lifted his heel against me.
10 But you, O Yahweh, be gracious to me and raise me up
that I may repay them.
11 By this I know that you delight in me:
because my enemy has not shouted in triumph over me.
12 As for me, you have upheld me in my integrity,
and you have set me in your presence forever.
13 Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 41:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm; the English verse number is reduced by one
  2. Psalm 41:2 Hebrew “soul”
  3. Psalm 41:3 Literally “his every bed you change”
  4. Psalm 41:4 Or “my soul”
  5. Psalm 41:7 Literally “evil”
  6. Psalm 41:9 Literally “the man of my peace”