Mazmur 41:7-9

41:7 All who hate me whisper insults about me to one another; ¹ 

they plan ways to harm me.

41:8 They say, ² 

‘An awful disease ³  overwhelms him, ⁴ 

and now that he is bed-ridden he will never recover.’ ⁵ 

41:9 Even my close friend ⁶  whom I trusted,

he who shared meals with me, has turned against me. ⁷ 

[41:7]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “is poured out on him.” The passive participle of יָצַק (yatsaq) is used.

[41:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he who lies down will not again arise.”

[41:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “man of my peace.” The phrase here refers to one’s trusted friend (see Jer 38:22; Obad 7).

[41:9]  ⁷ 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.