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Selected Verse: Psalms 41:10 - King James
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| Ps 41:10 |
King James |
But thou, O LORD, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
| A lawful punishment of criminals is not revenge, nor inconsistent with their final good (compare Psa 40:14-15). |
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
But thou, O Lord, be merciful unto me - That is, give me strength; restore me from my sickness and weakness.
And raise me up - From my bed of languishing.
That I may requite them - That I may repay them; or may recompense them. The word used here - שׁלם shālam - means properly, to be whole, sound, safe; then, in Piel, to make secure, or preserve in safety; and then, to complete, to make whole, to make good, to restore; and then, to make whole or to complete in the sense of recompensing or requiting: to make the matter equal. It would be well expressed here by the familiar language, "giving them what they deserve." But it is not necessary to understand this as indicating an unforgiving spirit. The writer may have meant to say that the persons who demeaned themselves in this manner ought to be punished; that the public good required it; and being a magistrate, he spoke as one appointed to administer the laws, and prayed for a restoration to strength, that he might administer justice in this and in all similar cases. It is possible also that he meant to say he would repay them by "heaping coals of fire on their heads" - by acts of kindness in place of the wrongs that they had done him (see Pro 25:21-22; compare Rom 12:20-21); though I admit, that this is not the obvious interpretation. But in order to show that this was uttered with a bad spirit, and under the promptings of revenge, it would be necessary to show that neither of these supposable interpretations could be the true one. It may be added here that we may not be required to vindicate all the expressions of personal feeling found in the Psalms in order to any just view of inspiration. See General Introduction, 6 (6). |
| Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78] |
| (Heb.: 41:11-13) Having now described their behaviour towards him, sick in soul and body as he is, so devoid of affection, yea, so malignantly hostile and so totally contrary to the will and promise of God, David prays that God would raise him up, for he is now lying low, sick in soul and in body. The prayer is followed, as in Ps 39:14 and many other passages, by the future with ah: that I may be able to requite them, or: then will I requite them. What is meant is the requiting which it was David's duty as a duly constituted king to exercise, and which he did really execute by the power of God, when he subdued the rebellion of Absalom and maintained his ground in opposition to faithlessness and meanness. Instead of בּזאת אדע (Gen 42:33, cf. Gen 15:8, Exo 7:17; Num 16:28; Jos 3:10) the expression is בּזאת ידעתּי in the sense of (ex hoc) cognoverim. On חפצתּ בּי cf. Psa 18:20; Psa 22:9; Psa 35:27. By the second כּי, the בּזאת, which points forwards, is explained. The adversatively accented subject ואני stands first in Psa 41:13 as a nom. absol., just as in Psa 35:13. Psa 41:13 states, retrospectively from the standpoint of fulfilment, what will then be made manifest and assure him of the divine good pleasure, viz., Jahve upholds him (תּמך as in Psa 63:9), and firmly sets him as His chosen one before Him (cf. Psa 39:6) in accordance with the Messianic promise in Sa2 7:16, which speaks of an unlimited future. |
| Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
| Requite - Punish them for their wicked practices; which being now a magistrate, he was obliged to do. |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
| Raise me up - Restore me from this sickness, that I may requite them. This has also been applied to our Lord; who, knowing that he must die, prays that he may rise again, and thus disappoint the malice of his enemies. |
14 Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.
15 Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.
20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
21 If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
22 For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.
16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
6 Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
9 But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
13 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.
13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
13 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.
27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.
20 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
17 Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.
8 And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
33 And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone: