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

To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.

When Things Go Wrong

41 Blessed is the one who is considerate of the destitute;[a]
    the Lord will deliver him when the times are evil.
The Lord will protect him and keep him alive;
    he will be blessed in the land;
        and he will not be handed over to the desires of his enemies.
The Lord will uphold him even on his sickbed;
    you will transform his bed of illness into health.

As for me, I said,
    Lord, be gracious to me!
        Heal me, for I have sinned against you!”
As for my enemies, with malice they said,
    “When will he die and memory of[b] his name perish?”
The one who comes to visit me speaks lies;
    in his heart he thinks slanderous things about me
        and goes around spreading them.
As for all who hate me,
    they whisper together against me;
        they desire to do me harm.

They say, “Wickedness is entrenched in him.
    Once he is brought low,
        he will not rise again.”
As for my best friend,
    the one in whom I trusted,
the one who ate my bread,
    even he has insulted[c] me!

10 But you, Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up
    so that I may pay them back!
11 In this way I will know that you are pleased with me,
    and that my enemies will not shout in triumph over me.
12 As for me, you will maintain my just cause,
    and you will cause me to stand in your presence forever.

13 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
    from eternity to eternity.
        Amen and amen!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 41:1 Or poor
  2. Psalm 41:5 The Heb. lacks memory of
  3. Psalm 41:9 Lit. has lifted up his heel against

Psalm 41[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

Blessed(A) are those who have regard for the weak;(B)
    the Lord delivers them in times of trouble.(C)
The Lord protects(D) and preserves them—(E)
    they are counted among the blessed in the land—(F)
    he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.(G)
The Lord sustains them on their sickbed(H)
    and restores them from their bed of illness.(I)

I said, “Have mercy(J) on me, Lord;
    heal(K) me, for I have sinned(L) against you.”
My enemies say of me in malice,
    “When will he die and his name perish?(M)
When one of them comes to see me,
    he speaks falsely,(N) while his heart gathers slander;(O)
    then he goes out and spreads(P) it around.

All my enemies whisper together(Q) against me;
    they imagine the worst for me, saying,
“A vile disease has afflicted him;
    he will never get up(R) from the place where he lies.”
Even my close friend,(S)
    someone I trusted,
one who shared my bread,
    has turned[b] against me.(T)

10 But may you have mercy(U) on me, Lord;
    raise me up,(V) that I may repay(W) them.
11 I know that you are pleased with me,(X)
    for my enemy does not triumph over me.(Y)
12 Because of my integrity(Z) you uphold me(AA)
    and set me in your presence forever.(AB)

13 Praise(AC) be to the Lord, the God of Israel,(AD)
    from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.(AE)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 41:1 In Hebrew texts 41:1-13 is numbered 41:2-14.
  2. Psalm 41:9 Hebrew has lifted up his heel