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PSALM 41
STROPHE DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS
| NASB | NKJV | NRSV | TEV | NJB |
| The Psalmist In Sickness Complains of Enemies and False Friends | The Blessing and Suffering of the Godly |
Prayer For Healing From Sickness (A Lament) |
A Prayer In Sickness | Prayer of a Sufferer Deserted |
|
MT Intro "For the choir director. A Psalm of David" |
||||
| 41:1-3 | 41:1-3 | 41:1-3 | 41:1-3 | 41:1-3 |
| 41:4-9 | 41:4-6 | 41:4-10 | 41:4-9 | 41:4-9 |
| 41:7-9 | ||||
| 41:10-12 | 41:10-12 | 41:10-13 | 41:10-12 | |
| 41:11-12 | ||||
| 41:13 | 41:13 | 41:13 | 41:13 |
READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")
FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT PARAGRAPH LEVEL
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.
WORD AND PHRASE STUDY
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 41:1-3
1How
blessed is he who considers the helpless;
The Lord
will deliver him in a day of trouble.
2The
Lord will protect him and keep him alive,
And he shall be called blessed upon
the earth;
And do not give
him over to the desire of his enemies.
3The
Lord will sustain him upon his sickbed;
In his illness, You restore him to
health.
41:1-3 This first strophe is describing the blessings (BDB 80, see note at Ps. 1:1, see SPECIAL TOPIC: BLESSING) of the person who obeys the Law of Moses, which requires Israel to be kind, supportive, and attentive to those in need ("poor," BDB 195, cf. Exod. 23:5; Lev. 14:21; Ps. 72:13; 82:3; 113:7; Prov. 19:17; 21:13; 28:3,8; 29:7,14). Those who help them are, in reality, helping their God (see Jesus' discussion about the last judgment in Matt. 25:31-46).
The type of persons described by this term (Job described himself in these terms).
Notice what YHWH will do for an obedient covenant follower (helping the poor is just one item but it stands here for the whole law).
Notice all the imperfect verbs, denoting ongoing actions by God throughout life.
Just a note about the general statements like this in Wisdom Literature. This should not be understood as a promise that affects every person, every time, who helps the poor. This is a general statement. This is true the majority of the time but not each and every time. We live in a fallen world!
This is a good illustration of Matthew 7. How one lives, how one speaks, how one allocates his resources and time reveal the priority commitment of the heart!
41:2 "upon the earth" The Hebrew word "land" (BDB 75, see SPECIAL TOPIC: LAND, COUNTRY, EARTH) can mean
Only context can tell. I have been convinced by Bernard Ramm, The Christian View of Science and Scripture that the flood of Genesis 6-9 was local because of the use of this word in that context. See my commentary on Genesis 1-11 online free at www.freebiblecommentary.org.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 41:4-9
4As
for me, I said, "O 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 falsehood;
His heart gathers wickedness to
itself;
When he goes
outside, he tells it.
7All
who hate me whisper together against me;
Against
me they devise my hurt, saying,
8"A
wicked thing is poured out upon him,
That
when he lies down, he will not rise up again."
9Even my close friend in
whom I trusted,
Who ate my
bread,
Has lifted up his
heel against me.
41:4-9 The logical connection between these strophes is not stated. Possibly the author was a man like the one described in Ps. 41:1-3, but his life was in distress and under attack from others. Apparently he recognized that he had sinned (Ps. 41:4). Many of the last psalms of Book I (Psalm 1-41) mention a confession or acknowledgment of sin.
There are several problems mentioned.
41:4b "Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You" This is a Qal imperative (BDB 950, KB 1272). This request is made because the psalmist recognizes his sin and need for forgiveness. "Healing" is often imagery for forgiveness (cf. Ps. 103:2; Isa. 1:5-6; Jer. 30:17).
For "soul" see SPECIAL TOPIC: NEPHESH.
41:7 "whisper together" This verb (BDB 538, KB 527, Hithpael imperfect) can be used of curses/charms (cf. Ps. 58:5; Eccl. 10:11; Isa. 3:2-3) or it could just be people speaking in a low voice so as not to be heard (cf. 2 Sam. 12:19) or a low voice in prayer (cf. Isa. 26:16).
If it does refer to a curse in this context, Ps. 41:8 is the result.
| 41:8 | |
| NASB | "a wicked thing is poured out upon me" |
| NKJV | "an evil disease, they say, clings to him" |
| NRSV | "they think a deadly thing has fastened on to him" |
| TEV | "They say, 'He is fatally ill'" |
| NJB | "a fatal sickness has a grip on him" |
| REB | "an evil spell is cast on him, they say" |
The term "wicked" (BDB 116) later became the title Belial (i.e., Deut. 13:13; 2 Cor. 6:15). It was used in several senses, a good sample is in 1 Sam.1:16; 2:12; 25:17.
The usage here seems to be a personification of a disease which they would have seen as being sent by YHWH because of the sin of the psalmist (i.e., Job's three friends). But YHWH's actions toward him in Ps. 41:10-12 show that their statements are lies/slander.
41:9 "Has lifted his heel against me" This act of cultural rejection (notice there is no parallel passage) came after a fellowship/covenant meal (cf. Gen. 26:28-30; 31:51-54; Exod. 12:18; 24:5; Ps. 69:22).
It is possible to see this as
The rejection is all the more poignant because of the apparent friendship between the two of them.
▣ "my close friend" This is literally "man of peace who turned out to be a child of Beliel" (Ps. 41:8a). This idiom is also used in Jer. 38:22; Obad. 1:7. This is such a difficult thing to occur!
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 41:10-12
10But
You, O 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 set me in Your presence forever.
41:10-12 In Ps. 41:4 there were two requests (imperatives).
Now in the next strophe there are two imperatives and a cohortative.
Healing will be a visible evidence that YHWH has heard and answered his prayers. It is not just the visible manifestation of YHWH that rejoices the psalmist but
41:12b "forever" See SPECIAL TOPIC: FOREVER ('olam).
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 41:13
13Blessed
be the Lord, the God of Israel,
From everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.
41:13 This is a doxological, liturgical close (cf. Ps. 72:18-19; 89:52; 103:19-22; 106:48; 150:6). It probably was not originally part of Psalm 41, but a general close to the first book (Psalm 1-41) of the Psalter (see Jewish Study Bible, p. 1328).
▣ "Amen, and Amen" See SPECIAL TOPIC: AMEN
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
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