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41. Psalm 41

¹ Blessed are those who have regard for the weak;
   the LORD delivers them in times of trouble.
² The LORD protects and preserves them—
   they are counted among the blessed in the land—
   he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.
³ The LORD sustains them on their sickbed
   and restores them from their bed of illness.

    ⁴ I said, “Have mercy on me, LORD;
   heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
⁵ My enemies say of me in malice,
   “When will he die and his name perish?”
⁶ When one of them comes to see me,
   he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander;
   then he goes out and spreads it around.

    ⁷ All my enemies whisper together against me;
   they imagine the worst for me, saying,
⁸ “A vile disease has afflicted him;
   he will never get up from the place where he lies.”
⁹ Even my close friend,
   someone I trusted,
one who shared my bread,
   has turned Hebrew has lifted up his heel against me.

    ¹⁰ But may you have mercy on me, LORD;
   raise me up, that I may repay them.
¹¹ I know that you are pleased with me,
   for my enemy does not triumph over me.
¹² Because of my integrity you uphold me
   and set me in your presence forever.

¹³ Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.

7. All they that hate me whisper together against me. Here he seems generally to include both classes of his enemies; those who sought to oppress him in an open manner, and in the character of avowed enemies; and those who, under the pretense of friendship, attempted to do the same thing by deceit and stratagem. Accordingly, he says that all of them took counsel together about his destruction, just as we know that wicked men hold much secret consultation respecting their intended deeds of treachery, and whisper to one another concerning them. Hence he adds the words to meditate, or plot, which he employs to denote their base conspiracies and sinful consultations.