Mazmur 40:1

Psalm 40 ¹ 

For the music director; By David, a psalm.

40:1 I relied completely ²  on the Lord,

and he turned toward me

and heard my cry for help.

Mazmur 41:6

41:6 When someone comes to visit, ³  he pretends to be friendly; ⁴ 

he thinks of ways to defame me, ⁵ 

and when he leaves he slanders me. ⁶ 

[40:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 40. The psalmist combines a song of thanksgiving for a recent act of divine deliverance (vv. 1-11) with a confident petition for renewed divine intervention (vv. 12-17).

[40:1]  ² tn Heb “relying, I relied.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form to emphasize the verbal idea. The emphasis is reflected in the translation through the adverb “completely.” Another option is to translate, “I waited patiently” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[41:6]  ³ tn Heb “to see.”

[41:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “he speaks deceitfully.”

[41:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “his heart gathers sin to itself.”

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