For the music director; a psalm of David.
41:1 How blessed 2 is the one who treats the poor properly! 3
When trouble comes, 4 the Lord delivers him. 5
41:6 When someone comes to visit, 6 he pretends to be friendly; 7
he thinks of ways to defame me, 8
and when he leaves he slanders me. 9
45:8 All your garments are perfumed with 10 myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From the luxurious palaces 11 comes the music of stringed instruments that makes you happy. 12
98:9 before the Lord!
For he comes to judge the earth!
He judges the world fairly, 13
and the nations in a just manner.
118:26 May the one who comes in the name of the Lord 14 be blessed!
We will pronounce blessings on you 15 in the Lord’s temple. 16
1 sn Psalm 41. The psalmist is confident (vv. 11-12) that the Lord has heard his request to be healed (vv. 4-10), and he anticipates the joy he will experience when the Lord intervenes (vv. 1-3). One must assume that the psalmist is responding to a divine oracle of assurance (see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 319-20). The final verse is a fitting conclusion to this psalm, but it is also serves as a fitting conclusion to the first “book” (or major editorial division) of the Psalter. Similar statements appear at or near the end of each of the second, third, and fourth “books” of the Psalter (see Pss 72:19, 89:52, and 106:48 respectively).
2 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 34:9; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).
3 sn One who treats the poor properly. The psalmist is characterizing himself as such an individual and supplying a reason why God has responded favorably to his prayer. The Lord’s attitude toward the merciful mirrors their treatment of the poor.
4 tn Heb “in the day of trouble” (see Ps 27:5).
5 tn That is, the one who has been kind to the poor. The prefixed verbal form could be taken as jussive of prayer (“may the
6 tn Heb “to see.”
7 tn Heb “he speaks deceitfully.”
8 tn Heb “his heart gathers sin to itself.”
9 tn Heb “he goes outside and speaks.”
10 tn The words “perfumed with” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
11 tn Heb “the palaces of ivory.” The phrase “palaces of ivory” refers to palaces that had ivory panels and furniture decorated with ivory inlays. Such decoration with ivory was characteristic of a high level of luxury. See 1 Kgs 22:39 and Amos 3:15.
12 tn Heb “from the palaces of ivory stringed instrument[s] make you happy.”
13 tn The verbal forms in v. 9 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions (“will judge…”).
14 sn The people refer here to the psalmist, who enters the
15 tn The pronominal suffix is second masculine plural, but the final mem (ם) is probably dittographic (note the mem [מ] at the beginning of the following form) or enclitic, in which case the suffix may be taken as second masculine singular, referring to the psalmist.
16 tn Heb “from the house of the