Tap any verse number for what that verse means.
1Blessed 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.
Understand This
Psalm 41, explained
What Psalm 41 is saying
Psalm 41, the final psalm of Book I of the Psalter, opens with a beatitude for those who consider the poor (dal) and closes with a doxology. The psalm's biographical core describes betrayal by a close friend: 'Even my close friend, whom I trusted, who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me'—words Jesus applied to Judas at the Last Supper (John 13:18). David's illness has become an occasion for enemies to plot and a trusted friend to betray.
The background behind it
The betrayal by a table companion connects to Ahithophel's treachery during Absalom's revolt (2 Samuel 15–17) and was typologically applied to Judas in the New Testament. The concluding doxology (v. 13) closes Book I of the Psalter, which was likely compiled as a distinct collection before being integrated into the five-book structure.
Themes running underneath
The psalm creates a theological connection between care for the vulnerable and one's own experience of God's care in crisis. The betrayal motif—a trusted friend 'lifting the heel'—carries overtones of Genesis 3:15 and becomes paradigmatic for the deepest human treachery.
Why it still matters
Psalm 41 links compassion for the poor with God's compassion for the compassionate, creating a cycle of grace. It also addresses the particular pain of intimate betrayal, validating that wound while directing the sufferer's hope to God's sustaining presence.
Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.