Psa 41 | EE | STEP | This is for the music leader. It is a psalm for David. Anyone that is kind to the poor will be very happy. The LORD will help him when life is difficult.

Psalms 41

The Unkind Friend ^{▼▼41:0 Psalm 41 has 5 parts:
Verses 1 – 3a: What the LORD will do for people that are kind to the poor. (3a means the first part of verse 3.)
Verses 3b – 4: David prays to the LORD. David thinks that God will do these things for him because David is kind to the poor and ill.
Verses 5-9: David writes about his unkind friends.
Verses 10-12: David finishes his prayer.
Verse 13: Words put in by the people that made the Book of Psalms. The words finish the First Book of Psalms, numbers 1-41.}

This is for the music leader.

It is a psalm for David.

1 Anyone that is kind to the poor will be very happy.

The LORD will help him when life is difficult. ^{▼▼41:1 Verse 1: ‘when life is difficult’ is ‘in the day of trouble’ in Hebrew.}

2 The LORD will make him safe and keep him alive.

He will be happy where he lives.

The LORD will not give him to his enemies (for them)

to do what they want to do with him. ^{▼▼41:2 Verse 2: ‘where he lives’ is ‘on the earth’ in Hebrew.}

3 The LORD will be like a nurse to him when he is ill in bed.

Every time that he is ill, you will make him well again. ^{▼▼41:3 Verse 3: This is ‘you will change all his bed when he is ill’ in Hebrew. We have put what we think that it means.}

4 I said, ‘LORD have mercy on me.

heal me, even though I have broken your rules.’ ^{▼▼41:4 Verse 4: ‘have mercy’ is an English way to say ‘do not hurt me even though you ought to hurt me.’}

5 My enemies say bad things about me.

They say ‘When will he die?

When will people forget his name?’ ^{▼▼41:5 Verse 5: ‘people forget his name’ probably means ‘his family all die so that nobody remembers them.’}

6 And if one (of them) comes to see me, he tells lies.

He fills his mind with bad things to say about me.

Then he goes out and tells everyone.

7 All the people that hate me whisper to each other about me.

They hope that worse things will happen to me. ^{▼▼41:7 Verse 7: ‘worse things happen to me’ means ‘that I will not only be ill but die.’}

8 They say that ‘someone put a death-wish on him,

so he will never get up from his bed.’ ^{▼▼41:8 Verse 8: ‘death-wish’ in Hebrew is ‘Belial.’ This is a name for the Devil, God’s enemy. David knew, as we know, that nobody can put a death-wish on people that obey God.}

9 Even my best friend has lifted up his heel against me.

He was someone that I trusted,

someone that I often ate food with in my home. ^{▼▼41:9 Verse 9: ‘lifted up his heel’ is how the Jews said ‘was very unkind to me’, or ‘kicked me.’}

10 But you, LORD, have mercy on me.

Raise me up so that I can repay them. ^{▼▼41:10 Verse 10: As David was king, it was his job to repay them, or hurt them, because they were bad.}

11 I know that you are pleased with me

because my enemy does not shout over me that he has won.

12 You will help me because I am honest.

You will always keep me near to you.

13 Say good things about the LORD.

He always was the God of Israel and he always will be!

amen and amen!