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For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.

41 Blessed is he who considers the poor.
    Yahweh will deliver him in the day of evil.
Yahweh will preserve him, and keep him alive.
    He shall be blessed on the earth,
    and he will not surrender him to the will of his enemies.
Yahweh will sustain him on his sickbed,
    and restore him from his bed of illness.
I said, “Yahweh, have mercy on me!
    Heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
My enemies speak evil against me:
    “When will he die, and his name perish?”
If he comes to see me, he speaks falsehood.
    His heart gathers iniquity to itself.
    When he goes abroad, he tells it.
All who hate me whisper together against me.
    They imagine the worst for me.
“An evil disease”, they say, “has afflicted him.
    Now that he lies he shall rise up no more.”
Yes, my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted,
    who ate bread with me,
    has lifted up his heel against me.

10 But you, Yahweh, have mercy on me, and raise me up,
    that I may repay them.
11 By this I know that you delight in me,
    because my enemy doesn’t triumph over me.
12 As for me, you uphold me in my integrity,
    and set me in your presence forever.

13 Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting and to everlasting!
Amen and amen.

Psalm 41

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor!
    The Lord rescues them when they are in trouble.
The Lord protects them
    and keeps them alive.
He gives them prosperity in the land
    and rescues them from their enemies.
The Lord nurses them when they are sick
    and restores them to health.

“O Lord,” I prayed, “have mercy on me.
    Heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
But my enemies say nothing but evil about me.
    “How soon will he die and be forgotten?” they ask.
They visit me as if they were my friends,
    but all the while they gather gossip,
    and when they leave, they spread it everywhere.
All who hate me whisper about me,
    imagining the worst.
“He has some fatal disease,” they say.
    “He will never get out of that bed!”
Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely,
    the one who shared my food, has turned against me.

10 Lord, have mercy on me.
    Make me well again, so I can pay them back!
11 I know you are pleased with me,
    for you have not let my enemies triumph over me.
12 You have preserved my life because I am innocent;
    you have brought me into your presence forever.

13 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
    who lives from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and amen!