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Yahweh will preserve him, and keep him alive. He shall be blessed on the earth, and he will not surrender him to the will of his enemies.
Psalms 41:2 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.
  • BSB The LORD will protect and preserve him; He will bless him in the land and refuse to surrender him to the will of his foes.
  • NKJV The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, And he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.
  • NASB The Lord will protect him and keep him alive, And he will be called blessed upon the earth; And do not turn him over to the desire of his enemies.
  • NLT The Lord protects them and keeps them alive. He gives them prosperity in the land and rescues them from their enemies.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The Lord will preserve and keep alive the one who cares for the poor, not surrendering him to his enemies. God protects the merciful.

Overview

The blessing continues: divine preservation, life, and protection from foes. God guards those who show His compassion to others. This reflects the principle that mercy received flows to mercy shown, ultimately grounded in God's own steadfast love.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Jer 45:4–5“You shall tell him, Yahweh says: ‘Behold, that which I have built, I will break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up; and this in the whole land.
  • Ps 27:12Don’t deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen up against me, such as breathe out cruelty.
  • 1 Tim 4:8For bodily exercise has some value, but godliness has value in all things, having the promise of the life which is now, and of that which is to come.
  • Ps 33:19to deliver their soul from death, to keep them alive in famine.
  • Ps 37:32–33The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to kill him.
  • Ps 140:8–9Yahweh, don’t grant the desires of the wicked. Don’t let their evil plans succeed, or they will become proud. Selah.
  • Ps 37:22For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the land. Those who are cursed by him shall be cut off.
  • Ps 128:1–6A Song of Ascents. Blessed is everyone who fears Yahweh, who walks in his ways.
  • Ps 91:3–7For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly pestilence.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 41:2YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.

How Psalms 41:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.