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Psalm chapter 41

English Standard Version

1 Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him; 2the Lord protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies. 3The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health. 4As for me, I said, "O Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you!" 5My enemies say of me in malice, "When will he die, and his name perish?" 6And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers iniquity; when he goes out, he tells it abroad. 7All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me. 8They say, "A deadly thing is poured out on him; he will not rise again from where he lies." 9Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. 10But you, O Lord, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them! 11By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me. 12But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever. 13 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.
New International Version

1For the director of music. A psalm of David. Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the Lord delivers them in times of trouble. 2The Lord protects and preserves them— they are counted among the blessed in the land— he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.
3The Lord sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness. 4I said, "Have mercy on me, Lord; heal me, for I have sinned against you." 5My enemies say of me in malice, "When will he die and his name perish?"
6When one of them comes to see me, he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander; then he goes out and spreads it around. 7All my enemies whisper together against me; they imagine the worst for me, saying, 8"A vile disease has afflicted him; he will never get up from the place where he lies."
9Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me. 10But may you have mercy on me, Lord; raise me up, that I may repay them. 11I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me.
12Because of my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.
13Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.
New American Standard Bible

1Blessed is one who considers the helpless; The Lord will save him on a day of trouble. 2The Lord will protect him and keep him alive, And he will be called blessed upon the earth; And do not turn him over to the desire of his enemies. 3The Lord will sustain him upon his sickbed; In his illness, You restore him to health. 4As for me, I said, 'Lord, be gracious to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.' 5My enemies speak evil against me, 'When will he die, and his name perish?' 6And when he comes to see me, he speaks empty words; His heart gathers wickedness to itself; When he goes outside, he tells it. 7All who hate me whisper together against me; They plot my harm against me, saying, 8'A wicked thing is poured out upon him, So that when he lies down, he will not get up again.' 9Even my close friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me. 10But You, Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up, That I may repay them. 11By this I know that You are pleased with me, Because my enemy does not shout in triumph over me. 12As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, And You place me in Your presence forever. 13Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, From everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.
Christian Standard Bible

1For 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. 2The Lord will keep him and preserve him; he will be blessed in the land. You will not give him over to the desire of his enemies.
3The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed; you will heal him on the bed where he lies. 4I said, "Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you." 5My enemies speak maliciously about me: "When will he die and be forgotten?" 6When one of them comes to visit, he speaks deceitfully; he stores up evil in his heart; he goes out and talks. 7All who hate me whisper together about me; they plan to harm me. 8"Something awful has overwhelmed him, and he won’t rise again from where he lies!"
9Even my friend in whom I trusted, one who ate my bread, has raised his heel against me. 10But you, Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up; then I will repay them. 11By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy does not shout in triumph over me.
12You supported me because of my integrity and set me in your presence forever. 13Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and amen.
New Living Translation

1Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor! The Lord rescues them when they are in trouble. 2The Lord protects them and keeps them alive. He gives them prosperity in the land and rescues them from their enemies. 3The Lord nurses them when they are sick and restores them to health.
4'O Lord,' I prayed, 'have mercy on me. Heal me, for I have sinned against you.' 5But my enemies say nothing but evil about me. 'How soon will he die and be forgotten?' they ask. 6They visit me as if they were my friends, but all the while they gather gossip, and when they leave, they spread it everywhere. 7All who hate me whisper about me, imagining the worst. 8'He has some fatal disease,' they say. 'He will never get out of that bed!' 9Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely, the one who shared my food, has turned against me.
10Lord, have mercy on me. Make me well again, so I can pay them back! 11I know you are pleased with me, for you have not let my enemies triumph over me. 12You have preserved my life because I am innocent; you have brought me into your presence forever.
13Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and amen!
King James Version

1To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.
2The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.
3The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.
4I said, Lord, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.
5Mine enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his name perish?
6And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he goeth abroad, he telleth it.
7All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt.
8An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him: and now that he lieth he shall rise up no more.
9Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.
10But thou, O Lord, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them.
11By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me.
12And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.
13Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.
New King James Version

1{To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.} Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. 2The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, And he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies. 3The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed. 4I said, “Lord, be merciful to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.” 5My enemies speak evil of me: “When will he die, and his name perish?” 6And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies; His heart gathers iniquity to itself; When he goes out, he tells it. 7All who hate me whisper together against me; Against me they devise my hurt. 8“An evil disease,” they say, “clings to him. And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.” 9 Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me. 10But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up, That I may repay them. 11By this I know that You are well pleased with me, Because my enemy does not triumph over me. 12As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, And set me before Your face forever. 13 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.

What does Psalm chapter 41 mean?

The collection of Psalms is sometimes divided into five "books," with the first including everything from Psalm 1 through Psalm 41. This passage was probably inspired by the attempted rebellion of David's son, Absalom (2 Samuel 15—18). Themes of slander, plotting, danger, and betrayal are compared to confidence in God's healing, protective ability.

David begins by stating that God will provide protection for those who care for the disadvantaged. The Hebrew term translated as "poor" here includes more than just those lacking resources. David sees himself as one of these righteous people (2 Samuel 9:3–13). He connects this to God's ability to heal, then confesses his sin and asks for God's "healing." This leads into the following passage, where the early verses establish David's reasons to trust that the Lord will be with him in a demanding situation (Psalm 41:1–4).

In David's case, enemies were plotting and scheming for his death. In fact, they wanted to take his throne, kill him, and erase his legacy. One of the conspirators was his own trusted advisor, Ahithophel (2 Samuel 16:23), who strongly sought to see David killed (2 Samuel 17:1–3, 14). During the Last Supper, Jesus refers to David's comment about a betraying friend, applying the idea to Judas (John 13:18). Yet David still expresses confidence in God's protection (Psalm 41:5–10).

The psalm ends with David's clear expectation: that the Lord will give him victory over his enemies, rather than letting him die. He praises God for having a "forever" relationship, ending the psalm with a blessing of praise to God (Psalm 41:11–13).
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