Mazmur 41:5-9

41:5 My enemies ask this cruel question about me, ¹ 

‘When will he finally die and be forgotten?’ ² 

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 

41:7 All who hate me whisper insults about me to one another; ⁷ 

they plan ways to harm me.

41:8 They say, ⁸ 

‘An awful disease ⁹  overwhelms him, ¹⁰ 

and now that he is bed-ridden he will never recover.’ ¹¹ 

41:9 Even my close friend ¹²  whom I trusted,

he who shared meals with me, has turned against me. ¹³ 

[41:5]  ¹ tn Heb “my enemies speak evil concerning me.”

[41:5]  ² tn Heb “and his name perish.”

[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.”

[41:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “together against me they whisper, all those who hate me.” The Hitpael of לָחַשׁ (lakhash) refers here to whispering to one another (see 2 Sam 12:19).

[41:8]  ⁸ tn The words “they say” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation to make it clear that v. 8 contains a quotation of what the psalmist’s enemies say about him (see v. 7a).

[41:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “thing of worthlessness.” In Ps 101:3 the phrase refers to evil deeds in general, but here it appears to refer more specifically to the illness that plagues the psalmist.

[41:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “is poured out on him.” The passive participle of יָצַק (yatsaq) is used.

[41:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he who lies down will not again arise.”

[41:9]  ¹² tn Heb “man of my peace.” The phrase here refers to one’s trusted friend (see Jer 38:22; Obad 7).

[41:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “has made a heel great against me.” The precise meaning of this phrase, which appears only here, is uncertain.

[41:9]  sn The language of this verse is applied to Judas Iscariot in John 13:18.