1To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, to be envied) is he who considers the weak and the poor; the Lord will deliver him in the time of evil and trouble.
2The Lord will protect him and keep him alive; he shall be called blessed in the land; and You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.
3The Lord will sustain, refresh, and strengthen him on his bed of languishing; all his bed You [O Lord] will turn, change, and transform in his illness.
4I said, Lord, be merciful and gracious to me; heal my inner self, for I have sinned against You.
5My enemies speak evil of me, [saying], When will he die and his name perish?
6And when one comes to see me, he speaks falsehood and empty words, while his heart gathers mischievous gossip [against me]; when he goes away, he tells it abroad.
7All who hate me whisper together about me; against me do they devise my hurt [imagining the worst for me].
8An evil disease, say they, is poured out upon him and cleaves fast to him; and now that he is bedfast, he will not rise up again.
9Even my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted (relied on and was confident), who ate of my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. [John 13:18.]
10But You, O Lord, be merciful and gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may requite them.
11By this I know that You favor and delight in me, because my enemy does not triumph over me.
12And as for me, You have upheld me in my integrity and set me in Your presence forever.
13Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting and to everlasting [from this age to the next, and forever]! Amen and Amen (so be it).