Psalms 41:4-10

Context

41:4 As for me, I said:¹

“O Lord, have mercy on me!

Heal me, for I have sinned against you!

41:5 My enemies ask this cruel question about me,²

‘When will he finally die and be forgotten?’³

41:6 When someone comes to visit,⁴ he pretends to be friendly;⁵

he thinks of ways to defame me,⁶

and when he leaves he slanders me.⁷

41:7 All who hate me whisper insults about me to one another;⁸

they plan ways to harm me.

41:8 They say,⁹

‘An awful disease¹⁰ overwhelms him,¹¹

and now that he is bed-ridden he will never recover.’¹²

41:9 Even my close friend¹³ whom I trusted,

he who shared meals with me, has turned against me.¹⁴

41:10 As for you, O Lord, have mercy on me and raise me up,

so I can pay them back!”¹⁵

[41:4] ¹sn In vv. 4-10 the psalmist recites the prayer of petition and lament he offered to the Lord.

[41:5] ²tn Heb “my enemies speak evil concerning me.”

[41:5] ³tn Heb “and his name perish.”

[41:6] ⁴tn Heb “to see.”

[41:6] ⁵tn Heb “he speaks deceitfully.”

[41:6] ⁶tn Heb “his heart gathers sin to itself.”

[41:6] ⁷tn Heb “he goes outside and speaks.”

[41:7] ⁸tn Heb “together against me they whisper, all those who hate me.” The Hitpael of לָחַשׁ (lakhash) refers here to whispering to one another (see 2 Sam 12:19).

[41:8] ⁹tn The words “they say” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation to make it clear that v. 8 contains a quotation of what the psalmist’s enemies say about him (see v. 7a).

[41:8] ¹⁰tn Heb “thing of worthlessness.” In Ps 101:3 the phrase refers to evil deeds in general, but here it appears to refer more specifically to the illness that plagues the psalmist.

[41:8] ¹¹tn Heb “is poured out on him.” The passive participle of יָצַק (yatsaq) is used.

[41:8] ¹²tn Heb “and he who lies down will not again arise.”

[41:9] ¹³tn Heb “man of my peace.” The phrase here refers to one’s trusted friend (see Jer 38:22; Obad 7).

[41:9] ¹⁴tn Heb “has made a heel great against me.” The precise meaning of this phrase, which appears only here, is uncertain.

[41:10] ¹⁵tn The cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) here indicates purpose or result (“Then I will repay them”) after the preceding imperatives.