John 13:18(v9)I don’t speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen. But that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with me has…
Psalms 55:12-14(v9)For it was not an enemy who insulted me, then I could have endured it. Neither was it he who hated me who raised himself up against me,…
Matthew 26:23(v9)He answered, “He who dipped his hand with me in the dish will betray me.
Psalms 55:20-22(v9)He raises his hands against his friends. He has violated his covenant. His mouth was smooth as butter, but his heart was war. His words…
John 13:26-27(v9)Jesus therefore answered, “It is he to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the piece of…
Show all 35 cross-references
Jeremiah 20:10(vv6, 9)For I have heard the defaming of many, “Terror on every side! Denounce, and we will denounce him!” say all my familiar friends, those who…
Job 19:19(v9)All my familiar friends abhor me. They whom I loved have turned against me.
2 Samuel 15:12(v9)Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he was offering the sacrifices. The…
Psalms 12:2(v6)Everyone lies to his neighbor. They speak with flattering lips, and with a double heart.
Obadiah 1:7(v9)All the men of your alliance have brought you on your way, even to the border. The men who were at peace with you have deceived you, and…
Micah 7:5(v9)Don’t trust in a neighbor. Don’t put confidence in a friend. With the woman lying in your embrace, be careful of the words of your mouth!
Job 19:13(v9)“He has put my brothers far from me. My acquaintances are wholly estranged from me.
Luke 11:53-54(v6)As he said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be terribly angry, and to draw many things out of him; lying in…
Deuteronomy 32:15(v9)But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked. You have grown fat. You have grown thick. You have become sleek. Then he abandoned God who made him, and…
Proverbs 16:28(v7)A perverse man stirs up strife. A whisperer separates close friends.
Proverbs 26:24-26(v6)A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but he harbors evil in his heart. When his speech is charming, don’t believe him, for…
Luke 20:20-23(v6)They watched him and sent out spies, who pretended to be righteous, that they might trap him in something he said, so as to deliver him up…
Psalms 56:5-6(v7)All day long they twist my words. All their thoughts are against me for evil. They conspire and lurk, watching my steps. They are eager to…
Psalms 71:11(v8)saying, “God has forsaken him. Pursue and take him, for no one will rescue him.”
Matthew 22:15(v7)Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how they might entrap him in his talk.
Matthew 26:3-4(v7)Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, who was called…
Matthew 27:41-46(v8)Likewise the chief priests also mocking, with the scribes, the Pharisees, and the elders, said, “He saved others, but he can’t save…
Luke 13:16(v8)Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham whom Satan had bound eighteen long years, be freed from this bondage on the Sabbath day?”
Nehemiah 6:1-14(v6)Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, and to Geshem the Arabian, and to the rest of our enemies, that I had built the wall, and…
Job 2:7-8(v8)So Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh, and struck Job with painful sores from the sole of his foot to his head. He took for himself…
Psalms 3:2(v8)Many there are who say of my soul, “There is no help for him in God.”
Psalms 31:13(v7)For I have heard the slander of many, terror on every side, while they conspire together against me, they plot to take away my life.
Psalms 38:3-7(v8)There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation, neither is there any health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities…
Proverbs 26:20(v7)For lack of wood a fire goes out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.
Daniel 11:27(v6)As for both these kings, their hearts will be to do mischief, and they will speak lies at one table; but it won’t prosper, for the end will…
Micah 7:5-7(v6)Don’t trust in a neighbor. Don’t put confidence in a friend. With the woman lying in your embrace, be careful of the words of your mouth!…
Matthew 27:63-64(v8)saying, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise again.’ Command therefore that…
Romans 1:29(v7)being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, malice; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil…
2 Corinthians 11:26(v6)I have been in travels often, perils of rivers, perils of robbers, perils from my countrymen, perils from the Gentiles, perils in the city,…
2 Corinthians 12:20(v7)For I am afraid that by any means, when I come, I might find you not the way I want to, and that I might be found by you as you don’t…
35 distinct cross-references across this passage (36 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn vv6–96. And if he come to see me, he…
6. And if he come to see me, he speaketh lies. What is contained in this verse relates to his false and treacherous friends. Those who were his professed enemies made no secret of their enmity against him, but openly persecuted him; and that he has already shown in the preceding verse. In addition to this, he now complains that many came to him with professions of attachment to him, as if they had been his friends, who, nevertheless, afterwards poured forth their malicious ill-will in secret against him. Enemies of this sort, who thus cover and conceal their malice, and insinuate themselves under the mask of a fair appearance, only for the purpose of secretly doing us mischief, are indeed much more to be feared than those who openly declare their wicked intentions. Accordingly, having complained of his open enemies, he proceeds to speak of his pretended friends, of whom he declares that they come to see him with no other design than to speak lies, and yet that they are meanwhile devising some deceitful and malicious purpose against him, nay, that they are even secretly heaping up iniquity, and, so to speak, laying it up in store in their hearts; and then he adds, that when they have gone forth from his presence, they manifest their hypocrisy and deceitfulness.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv6, 8, 9For pretending to comfort me, he conspireth my death…
For pretending to comfort me, he conspireth my death in his heart, and braggeth thereof.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv6–9Psa 41:6 And if he come to see [me],…
Psa 41:6 And if he come to see [me], he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; [when] he goeth abroad, he telleth [it].
Ver. 6. And if he come to see me] That is, Ahithophel, or some such hollow hearted Holophanta (Plaut.).
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He speaketh vanity] Pretending that he is very sorry to see me so ill at ease; and letting fall some crocodile’s tears perhaps, Ore pro mea sanitate orant sed corde quaeruut malum (Midrash Tillin.).
His heart gathereth iniquity to itself] As toads and serpents gather venom to vomit at you.
When he goeth abroad, he telleth it] Boasting to his treacherous brotherhood of his base behaviour.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv6–9To see me; to visit me in my sickness,…
To see me; to visit me in my sickness, according to the custom.
He speaketh vanity, or falsehood; pretending sympathy with me, and friendship to me, whilst they plot mischief in their hearts against me.
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His heart gathereth iniquity to itself; even when he is with me, and pretends hearty affection to me, his heart cannot forbear its customary practice of meditating and devising mischief against me; for which he watcheth and seeketh for all occasions from my speeches, or carriage, or the circumstances of my condition, which he observes.
He telleth it, partly to delight his companions, and partly to encourage them to and direct them in their malicious designs against me.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv6–9And if he come to see me,.... Meaning anyone…
And if he come to see me,.... Meaning anyone of his enemies, when they came, as pretended, to pay him a friendly visit. A late learned writer (x) interprets this of Absalom, who visited his father when he had the smallpox, which he thinks, after mentioned, of which his enemies expected he would die, when Absalom pretended great concern for his life; though he, with others, were plotting against him, should he live, to destroy him;
he speaketh vanity; lies and falsehoods, in an hypocritical manner, with a double heart; his mouth and his heart not agreeing together; see Mat 22:16;
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his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; amasses to itself greater treasures of wickedness still, thought that itself is desperately wicked, and very wickedness: this is to be understood of the enemies of Christ observing his words and actions, and laying them up, with a wicked intention, against a proper time;
when he goeth abroad, he telleth it; as in the instances concerning giving tribute to Caesar, destroying the temple, and saying he was the son of God, Mat 22:17; compared with Luk 23:2; compared with Mat 26:60, compared with Joh 19:5.
(x) Delaney's Life of King David, vol. 2. p. 157, 158.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv6, 9His heart - Even when he is with me,…
His heart - Even when he is with me, and pretends hearty affection, his heart is devising mischief against me.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv6–9Verse 6. And if he come to see me]…
Verse 6. And if he come to see me] This may relate to Ahithophel; but it is more likely that it was to some other person who was his secret enemy, who pretended to come and inquire after his health, but with the secret design to see whether death was despatching his work.
When he goeth abroad, he telleth it.] He makes several observations on my dying state; intimates that I am suffering deep remorse for secret crimes; that God is showing his displeasure against me, and that I am full of sorrow at the approach of death.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn v8Psa 41:8-9. An evil disease cleaveth fast unto him…
Psa 41:8-9. An evil disease cleaveth fast unto him — Hebrew, דבר בליעל, debar Belijagnal, a word, or thing of Belial. Literally, says Houbigant, A thing of Belial is poured out upon him, that is, his wickedness is brought round upon, or overflows him. The reproach wherewith they had loaded him, they hoped, would cleave so fast to him, that his name would perish with him, and they should gain their point. Or, their meaning was, The disease, wherewith he is now afflicted, will certainly make an end of him; for it is the punishment of some great, enormous crime, which he will not repent of, and which proves him, however he has appeared, a son of Belial. And now he lieth, he will rise up no more — Seeing God has begun to punish him, he will continue so to do till he destroy him, and then we shall be rid of him, and divide the spoil of his preferments. Yea, mine own familiar friend — Probably he means Ahithophel, who had been his bosom friend, and prime minister of state; in whom he had trusted, as one inviolably firm to him, and on whose advice he had relied much, in dealing with his enemies: which did eat of my bread — With whom he had been very intimate, and whom he had taken to sit at the table with him; nay, whom he had maintained and given a livelihood to, and so obliged both in gratitude and interest to adhere to him; hath lifted up his heel against me — A phrase implying injury joined with insolence and contempt; taken from an unruly horse, which kicks at him that owns and feeds it. He not only deserted, but insulted; opposed and endeavoured to supplant him. Those are wicked indeed, whom no courtesy done them, no confidence reposed in them, will oblige. Although these words were literally fulfilled in David, yet the Holy Ghost, who dictated them, looked further in them, even to Christ and Judas, in whom they received a further and fuller accomplishment; and to whom, therefore, they are applied, Joh 13:18.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv6–9And if he come to see me - If…
And if he come to see me - If he condescends to visit me in my sickness. The word me is not in the original; and perhaps the idea is not that he came to see the sufferer, but that he came to see “for himself,” though under pretence of paying a visit of kindness. His real motive was to make observation, that he might find something in the expressions or manner of the sufferer that would enable him to make a report unfavorable to him, and to confirm him in his impression that it was desirable such a man should die. He would come under the mask of sympathy and friendship, but really to find something that would confirm him in the opinion that he was a bad man, and that would enable him to state to others that it was desirable he should die.
He speaketh vanity - He utters no expressions of sincerity and truth; he suggests nothing that would console and comfort me; his words are all foreign to the purpose for which a man should visit another in such circumstances, and are, therefore, vain words. What he says is mere pretence and hypocrisy, and is designed to deceive me, as if he had sympathy with me, while his real purpose is to do me mischief.
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His heart gathereth iniquity to itself - Or, in his heart he is gathering mischief. That is, in his heart, or in his secret purpose, under the pretence of sympathy and friendship, he is really aiming to gather the materials for doing me wrong. He is endeavoring to find something in my words or manner; in my expressions of impatience and complaining; in the utterances of my unguarded moments, when I am scarcely conscious - something that may be uttered in the honesty of feeling when a man thinks that he is about to die - some reflections of my own on my past life - some confession of sin, which he may turn to my disadvantage, or which may justify his slanderous report that I am a bad man, and that it is desirable that such a man should live no longer. Can anything be imagined more malicious than this?
When he goeth abroad, he telleth it - literally, he tells it to the street, or to those who are without. Perhaps his friends, as malicious as himself, are anxiously waiting without for his report, and, like him, are desirous of finding something that may confirm them in their opinion of him. Or perhaps he designs to tell this to the friends of the sufferer, to show them now that they were deceived in the man; that although in the days of his health, and in his prosperity, he seemed to be a good man, yet that now, when the trial has come, and a real test has been applied, all his religion has been found false and hollow; his impatience, his complaining, his murmuring, and his unwillingness to die, all showing that he was a hypocrite, and was at heart a bad man. Compare the notes at Job 1:9-11.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv6–9to see me--as if to spy out my case.
to see me--as if to spy out my case.
he speaketh . . . itself--or, "he speaketh vanity as to his heart"--that is, does not speak candidly, "he gathereth iniquity to him," collects elements for mischief, and then divulges the gains of his hypocrisy.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv6–96. If he come to see me—Professedly to inquire…
6. If he come to see me—Professedly to inquire after my health as a friend.
He speaketh vanity—His professions of friendship are empty and hypocritical.
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His heart gathereth iniquity—Not only is his false profession of friendship an accumulation of his guilt, but it is in his heart even there to gather up material for my injury. Nay, this was the real object of his professedly friendly visit. Compare with this the feigned friendship but real malignity of Christ’s enemies. Luk_20:20.
He telleth it—He reports my sickness, and my private conversation, in a way to hurt me with the people.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv6–96. And if one of them comes to see…
6. And if one of them comes to see me, he speaketh falsehood. If one of these enemies comes to visit him, as was usual in sickness (2Ki_8:29), he speaks vanity or falsehood (Psa_12:2), makes hypocritical professions of sympathy; though all the time his heart it gathering iniquity or mischief; he is collecting materials for fresh slander, or feeding his malice on the sight of the sick man; and then he goeth abroad, he telleth what he has seen.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv6, 8, 9(6) And if he come.—Some one particular individual is…
(6) And if he come.—Some one particular individual is here singled out from the body of enemies.
To see.—The usual word for visiting a sick person. (Comp. 2Sa_13:5; 2Ki_8:29.)
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Vanity.—Better, lies. No more vivid picture of an insincere friend could be given. Pretended sympathy lies at the very bedside, while eye and ear are open to catch up anything that can be retailed abroad or turned into mischief, when the necessity of concealment is over.
The scene of the visit of the king to the death-bed of Gaunt in Shakespeare’s King Richard II. illustrates the psalmist’s position, and the poet may even have had this verse in his mind when he wrote.
“Should dying men flatter with those that live
No, no; men living flatter those that die.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv6–9And if he come to see me, he speaketh…
And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity; rather, he speaketh falsehood. (see the comment on Psa_12:2) It is suggested that Ahithophel is especially aimed at. But there is no proof of this. All the enemies are probably intended, only distributively instead of collectively. His heart gathereth iniquity to itself. Dr. Kay"s comment is, "He makes a show of friendship, using hollow compliments; but he is treasuring up every expression as material for misrepresentation." When he goeth abroad, he telleth it. He reports what he has seen and heard, but untruly.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon1885 · Public DomainOn vv6–9Ver. 6. And if he come to see me,…
Ver. 6. And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity. His visits of sympathy are visitations of mockery. When the fox calls on the sick lamb his words are soft, but he licks his lips in hope of the carcass. It is wretched work to have spies haunting one's bedchamber, calling in pretence of kindness, but with malice in their hearts. Hypocritical talk is always fulsome and sickening to honest men, but especially to the suffering saint. Our divine Lord had much of this from the false hearts that watched his words. His heart gathereth iniquity to itself. Like will to like. The bird makes its nest of feathers. Out of the sweetest flowers chemists can distil poison, and from the purest words and deeds malice can gather groundwork for calumnious report. It is perfectly marvellous how spite spins webs out of no materials whatever. It is no small trial to have base persons around you lying in wait for every word which they may pervert into evil. The Master whom we serve was constantly subject to this affliction. When he goeth abroad, he telleth it. He makes his lies, and then vends them in open market. He is no sooner out of the house than he outs with his lie, and this against a sick man whom he called to see as a frienda sick man to whose incoherent and random speeches pity should be showed. Ah, black hearted wretch! A devil's cub indeed. How far abroad men will go to publish their slanders! They would fain placard the sky with their falsehoods. A little fault is made much of; a slip of the tongue is a libel, a mistake a crime, and if a word can bear two meanings the worse is always fathered upon it. Tell it in Gath, publish it in Askelon, that the daughters of the uncircumcised may triumph. It is base to strike a man when he is down, yet such is the meanness of mankind towards a Christian hero should he for awhile chance to be under a cloud.
Ver. 6. If he come to see me, he speaketh vanity: many fair words, but none of them true. David Dickson.
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Ver. 6. I remember a pretty apologue that Bromiard tells: A fowler, in a sharp, frosty morning, having taken many little birds for which he had long watched, began to take up his nets, and nipping the birds on the head laid them down. A young thrush, espying the tears trickling down his cheek by reason of the extreme cold, said to her mother, that certainly the man was very merciful and compassionate, who wept so bitterly over the calamity of the poor birds. But her mother told her more wisely, that she might better judge of the man's disposition by his hand than by his eye; and if the hands do strike treacherously, he can never be admitted to friendship, who speaks fairly and weeps pitifully. Jeremy Taylor.
Ver. 6. His heart gathereth iniquity to itself.
1. By adding sin to sin, in that he covers over his malice with such horrid hypocrisy.
2. By inventing or contriving all the several ways he can to ensnare me, or do me some mischief, thereby seeking to satisfy and please his corrupt lusts and affections;
3. (Which I like best), by observing all he can in me, and drawing what he can from me, and so laying all up together in his mind, as the ground of his unjust surmises and censures concerning me. Arthur Jackson.
Ver. 6. (first clause). The folly and sin of frivolous visits.
Ver. 6. (second and third clauses). Like to like, or the way in which character draws its like to itself. The same subject might be treated under the title of The Chiffonnier, or the rag collector. What he gathers; where he puts itin his heart; what he does with it; what he gets for it; and what will become of him.
Psalms 41:7*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn vv6, 9And if he come to see me, he speaketh…
Psa_41:6
And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he goeth abroad, he telleth it.
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An unsympathetic visitor
The picture drawn by the poet is a very common one. He has unfortunately sent for a man who does not understand his ease. The man is full of words; he can dilate upon the events of the time; he can ask many questions; he can be ostentatiously officious and meddlesome; but all is vanity, a veering wind, a mere noise in the air. The person sent for was destitute of the quality of sympathy. He did not know the ministry of silence. He did not understand that by a mere look, tender, lingering, and sympathetic, he could heal a human heart. Being a newsmonger he brought in the news of the day, which is a sure proof that he would carry the news of the day away with him. When he goeth abroad, he telleth it: there is nothing sacred to the mere talker; there is a disease of words, a gossip which could pry and prattle about the most mysterious and tragical experiences of the heart. The text teaches us how important it is to entrust ourselves in trying moments only to those who are rich in Christian wisdom and sympathy. Few men know how to visit the sick. Those who are in Christ Jesus ought to be able to take rich Christian sympathy to sick-chambers, and to make houses beautiful with instances of Divine revelation and promise and comfort. It should not be beneath the greatest to visit the humblest. The temptation is to over-ride the poor; to make a false use of strength in the presence of the poor; to bear down upon and discourage the poor; such persons should never be sent to minister to souls that are in distress. The piety of Christs Church is not to be roughshod. The saints are to study the gentlest courtesy and grace of manner. They are to act as becometh saints. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield1917 · Public DomainOn v9Yea, mine own familiar friend
Yea, mine own familiar friend
Psalms 41. is the Psalm of the betrayal of the Son of man, as Jesus Himself taught. Joh 13:18; Joh 13:19. See Psalms 45, next in order of the Messianic Psalms.
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trusted (See Scofield "Psa 2:12").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v7against me they hope for my hurt
against me they hope for my hurt
Possible meanings are 1) "they hope that very bad things will happen to me" or 2) "they are planning to hurt me."
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An evil disease ... to him
His enemies speak of "disease" as if it were a person who has captured him. AT: "He is sick with a fatal disease" (See: Personification and Metaphor)
An evil disease
Possible meanings are 1) "A fatal disease" or 2) "Something evil"
now that he is lying down, he will rise up no more
Here the words "lying down" refer to lying in bed because of illness. That he will not "rise up" means that he will continue to lie down, which is a euphemism for death. AT: "now that he is sick in bed, he will die there" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Euphemism)
has lifted up his heel against me
This is an idiom that means his friend betrayed him. AT: "has betrayed me" or "has turned against me" (See: Idiom)
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v941:9 the one who shared my food: Eating together…
41:9 the one who shared my food: Eating together was a sign of unity (Acts 2:42). Refusing to eat with someone indicated hostility (1 Cor 5:11). Jesus experienced the same kind of betrayal (John 13:1, 18).
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv6–9 6. And if he come to see me, he…
6. And if he come to see me, he speaketh lies. What is contained in this verse relates to his false and treacherous friends. Those who were his professed enemies made no secret of their enmity against him, but openly persecuted him; and that he has already shown in the preceding verse. In addition to this, he now complains that many came to him with professions of attachment to him, as if they had been his friends, who, nevertheless, afterwards poured forth their malicious ill-will in secret against him. Enemies of this sort, who thus cover and conceal their malice, and insinuate themselves under the mask of a fair appearance, only for the purpose of secretly doing us mischief, are indeed much more to be feared than those who openly declare their wicked intentions. Accordingly, having complained of his open enemies, he proceeds to speak of his pretended friends, of whom he declares that they come to see him with no other design than to speak lies, and yet that they are meanwhile devising some deceitful and malicious purpose against him, nay, that they are even secretly heaping up iniquity, and, so to speak, laying it up in store in their hearts; and then he adds, that when they have gone forth from his presence, they manifest their hypocrisy and deceitfulness.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv6, 8, 9 For pretending to comfort me, he conspireth my death…
For pretending to comfort me, he conspireth my death in his heart, and braggeth thereof.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv6–9 Psa 41:6 And if he come to see [me],…
Psa 41:6 And if he come to see [me], he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; [when] he goeth abroad, he telleth [it].
Ver. 6. And if he come to see me] That is, Ahithophel, or some such hollow hearted Holophanta (Plaut.).
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He speaketh vanity] Pretending that he is very sorry to see me so ill at ease; and letting fall some crocodile’s tears perhaps, Ore pro mea sanitate orant sed corde quaeruut malum (Midrash Tillin.).
His heart gathereth iniquity to itself] As toads and serpents gather venom to vomit at you.
When he goeth abroad, he telleth it] Boasting to his treacherous brotherhood of his base behaviour.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv6–9 To see me; to visit me in my sickness,…
To see me; to visit me in my sickness, according to the custom.
He speaketh vanity, or falsehood; pretending sympathy with me, and friendship to me, whilst they plot mischief in their hearts against me.
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His heart gathereth iniquity to itself; even when he is with me, and pretends hearty affection to me, his heart cannot forbear its customary practice of meditating and devising mischief against me; for which he watcheth and seeketh for all occasions from my speeches, or carriage, or the circumstances of my condition, which he observes.
He telleth it, partly to delight his companions, and partly to encourage them to and direct them in their malicious designs against me.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv6–9 And if he come to see me,.... Meaning anyone…
And if he come to see me,.... Meaning anyone of his enemies, when they came, as pretended, to pay him a friendly visit. A late learned writer (x) interprets this of Absalom, who visited his father when he had the smallpox, which he thinks, after mentioned, of which his enemies expected he would die, when Absalom pretended great concern for his life; though he, with others, were plotting against him, should he live, to destroy him;
he speaketh vanity; lies and falsehoods, in an hypocritical manner, with a double heart; his mouth and his heart not agreeing together; see Mat 22:16;
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his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; amasses to itself greater treasures of wickedness still, thought that itself is desperately wicked, and very wickedness: this is to be understood of the enemies of Christ observing his words and actions, and laying them up, with a wicked intention, against a proper time;
when he goeth abroad, he telleth it; as in the instances concerning giving tribute to Caesar, destroying the temple, and saying he was the son of God, Mat 22:17; compared with Luk 23:2; compared with Mat 26:60, compared with Joh 19:5.
(x) Delaney's Life of King David, vol. 2. p. 157, 158.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv6, 9 His heart - Even when he is with me,…
His heart - Even when he is with me, and pretends hearty affection, his heart is devising mischief against me.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv6–9 Verse 6. And if he come to see me]…
Verse 6. And if he come to see me] This may relate to Ahithophel; but it is more likely that it was to some other person who was his secret enemy, who pretended to come and inquire after his health, but with the secret design to see whether death was despatching his work.
When he goeth abroad, he telleth it.] He makes several observations on my dying state; intimates that I am suffering deep remorse for secret crimes; that God is showing his displeasure against me, and that I am full of sorrow at the approach of death.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v8 Psa 41:8-9. An evil disease cleaveth fast unto him…
Psa 41:8-9. An evil disease cleaveth fast unto him — Hebrew, דבר בליעל, debar Belijagnal, a word, or thing of Belial. Literally, says Houbigant, A thing of Belial is poured out upon him, that is, his wickedness is brought round upon, or overflows him. The reproach wherewith they had loaded him, they hoped, would cleave so fast to him, that his name would perish with him, and they should gain their point. Or, their meaning was, The disease, wherewith he is now afflicted, will certainly make an end of him; for it is the punishment of some great, enormous crime, which he will not repent of, and which proves him, however he has appeared, a son of Belial. And now he lieth, he will rise up no more — Seeing God has begun to punish him, he will continue so to do till he destroy him, and then we shall be rid of him, and divide the spoil of his preferments. Yea, mine own familiar friend — Probably he means Ahithophel, who had been his bosom friend, and prime minister of state; in whom he had trusted, as one inviolably firm to him, and on whose advice he had relied much, in dealing with his enemies: which did eat of my bread — With whom he had been very intimate, and whom he had taken to sit at the table with him; nay, whom he had maintained and given a livelihood to, and so obliged both in gratitude and interest to adhere to him; hath lifted up his heel against me — A phrase implying injury joined with insolence and contempt; taken from an unruly horse, which kicks at him that owns and feeds it. He not only deserted, but insulted; opposed and endeavoured to supplant him. Those are wicked indeed, whom no courtesy done them, no confidence reposed in them, will oblige. Although these words were literally fulfilled in David, yet the Holy Ghost, who dictated them, looked further in them, even to Christ and Judas, in whom they received a further and fuller accomplishment; and to whom, therefore, they are applied, Joh 13:18.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv6–9 And if he come to see me - If…
And if he come to see me - If he condescends to visit me in my sickness. The word me is not in the original; and perhaps the idea is not that he came to see the sufferer, but that he came to see “for himself,” though under pretence of paying a visit of kindness. His real motive was to make observation, that he might find something in the expressions or manner of the sufferer that would enable him to make a report unfavorable to him, and to confirm him in his impression that it was desirable such a man should die. He would come under the mask of sympathy and friendship, but really to find something that would confirm him in the opinion that he was a bad man, and that would enable him to state to others that it was desirable he should die.
He speaketh vanity - He utters no expressions of sincerity and truth; he suggests nothing that would console and comfort me; his words are all foreign to the purpose for which a man should visit another in such circumstances, and are, therefore, vain words. What he says is mere pretence and hypocrisy, and is designed to deceive me, as if he had sympathy with me, while his real purpose is to do me mischief.
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His heart gathereth iniquity to itself - Or, in his heart he is gathering mischief. That is, in his heart, or in his secret purpose, under the pretence of sympathy and friendship, he is really aiming to gather the materials for doing me wrong. He is endeavoring to find something in my words or manner; in my expressions of impatience and complaining; in the utterances of my unguarded moments, when I am scarcely conscious - something that may be uttered in the honesty of feeling when a man thinks that he is about to die - some reflections of my own on my past life - some confession of sin, which he may turn to my disadvantage, or which may justify his slanderous report that I am a bad man, and that it is desirable that such a man should live no longer. Can anything be imagined more malicious than this?
When he goeth abroad, he telleth it - literally, he tells it to the street, or to those who are without. Perhaps his friends, as malicious as himself, are anxiously waiting without for his report, and, like him, are desirous of finding something that may confirm them in their opinion of him. Or perhaps he designs to tell this to the friends of the sufferer, to show them now that they were deceived in the man; that although in the days of his health, and in his prosperity, he seemed to be a good man, yet that now, when the trial has come, and a real test has been applied, all his religion has been found false and hollow; his impatience, his complaining, his murmuring, and his unwillingness to die, all showing that he was a hypocrite, and was at heart a bad man. Compare the notes at Job 1:9-11.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv6–9 to see me--as if to spy out my case.
to see me--as if to spy out my case.
he speaketh . . . itself--or, "he speaketh vanity as to his heart"--that is, does not speak candidly, "he gathereth iniquity to him," collects elements for mischief, and then divulges the gains of his hypocrisy.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv6–9 6. If he come to see me—Professedly to inquire…
6. If he come to see me—Professedly to inquire after my health as a friend.
He speaketh vanity—His professions of friendship are empty and hypocritical.
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His heart gathereth iniquity—Not only is his false profession of friendship an accumulation of his guilt, but it is in his heart even there to gather up material for my injury. Nay, this was the real object of his professedly friendly visit. Compare with this the feigned friendship but real malignity of Christ’s enemies. Luk_20:20.
He telleth it—He reports my sickness, and my private conversation, in a way to hurt me with the people.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv6–9 6. And if one of them comes to see…
6. And if one of them comes to see me, he speaketh falsehood. If one of these enemies comes to visit him, as was usual in sickness (2Ki_8:29), he speaks vanity or falsehood (Psa_12:2), makes hypocritical professions of sympathy; though all the time his heart it gathering iniquity or mischief; he is collecting materials for fresh slander, or feeding his malice on the sight of the sick man; and then he goeth abroad, he telleth what he has seen.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv6, 8, 9 (6) And if he come.—Some one particular individual is…
(6) And if he come.—Some one particular individual is here singled out from the body of enemies.
To see.—The usual word for visiting a sick person. (Comp. 2Sa_13:5; 2Ki_8:29.)
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Vanity.—Better, lies. No more vivid picture of an insincere friend could be given. Pretended sympathy lies at the very bedside, while eye and ear are open to catch up anything that can be retailed abroad or turned into mischief, when the necessity of concealment is over.
The scene of the visit of the king to the death-bed of Gaunt in Shakespeare’s King Richard II. illustrates the psalmist’s position, and the poet may even have had this verse in his mind when he wrote.
“Should dying men flatter with those that live
No, no; men living flatter those that die.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv6–9 And if he come to see me, he speaketh…
And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity; rather, he speaketh falsehood. (see the comment on Psa_12:2) It is suggested that Ahithophel is especially aimed at. But there is no proof of this. All the enemies are probably intended, only distributively instead of collectively. His heart gathereth iniquity to itself. Dr. Kay"s comment is, "He makes a show of friendship, using hollow compliments; but he is treasuring up every expression as material for misrepresentation." When he goeth abroad, he telleth it. He reports what he has seen and heard, but untruly.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain On vv6–9 Ver. 6. And if he come to see me,…
Ver. 6. And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity. His visits of sympathy are visitations of mockery. When the fox calls on the sick lamb his words are soft, but he licks his lips in hope of the carcass. It is wretched work to have spies haunting one's bedchamber, calling in pretence of kindness, but with malice in their hearts. Hypocritical talk is always fulsome and sickening to honest men, but especially to the suffering saint. Our divine Lord had much of this from the false hearts that watched his words. His heart gathereth iniquity to itself. Like will to like. The bird makes its nest of feathers. Out of the sweetest flowers chemists can distil poison, and from the purest words and deeds malice can gather groundwork for calumnious report. It is perfectly marvellous how spite spins webs out of no materials whatever. It is no small trial to have base persons around you lying in wait for every word which they may pervert into evil. The Master whom we serve was constantly subject to this affliction. When he goeth abroad, he telleth it. He makes his lies, and then vends them in open market. He is no sooner out of the house than he outs with his lie, and this against a sick man whom he called to see as a frienda sick man to whose incoherent and random speeches pity should be showed. Ah, black hearted wretch! A devil's cub indeed. How far abroad men will go to publish their slanders! They would fain placard the sky with their falsehoods. A little fault is made much of; a slip of the tongue is a libel, a mistake a crime, and if a word can bear two meanings the worse is always fathered upon it. Tell it in Gath, publish it in Askelon, that the daughters of the uncircumcised may triumph. It is base to strike a man when he is down, yet such is the meanness of mankind towards a Christian hero should he for awhile chance to be under a cloud.
Ver. 6. If he come to see me, he speaketh vanity: many fair words, but none of them true. David Dickson.
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Ver. 6. I remember a pretty apologue that Bromiard tells: A fowler, in a sharp, frosty morning, having taken many little birds for which he had long watched, began to take up his nets, and nipping the birds on the head laid them down. A young thrush, espying the tears trickling down his cheek by reason of the extreme cold, said to her mother, that certainly the man was very merciful and compassionate, who wept so bitterly over the calamity of the poor birds. But her mother told her more wisely, that she might better judge of the man's disposition by his hand than by his eye; and if the hands do strike treacherously, he can never be admitted to friendship, who speaks fairly and weeps pitifully. Jeremy Taylor.
Ver. 6. His heart gathereth iniquity to itself.
1. By adding sin to sin, in that he covers over his malice with such horrid hypocrisy.
2. By inventing or contriving all the several ways he can to ensnare me, or do me some mischief, thereby seeking to satisfy and please his corrupt lusts and affections;
3. (Which I like best), by observing all he can in me, and drawing what he can from me, and so laying all up together in his mind, as the ground of his unjust surmises and censures concerning me. Arthur Jackson.
Ver. 6. (first clause). The folly and sin of frivolous visits.
Ver. 6. (second and third clauses). Like to like, or the way in which character draws its like to itself. The same subject might be treated under the title of The Chiffonnier, or the rag collector. What he gathers; where he puts itin his heart; what he does with it; what he gets for it; and what will become of him.
Psalms 41:7*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv6, 9 And if he come to see me, he speaketh…
Psa_41:6
And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he goeth abroad, he telleth it.
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An unsympathetic visitor
The picture drawn by the poet is a very common one. He has unfortunately sent for a man who does not understand his ease. The man is full of words; he can dilate upon the events of the time; he can ask many questions; he can be ostentatiously officious and meddlesome; but all is vanity, a veering wind, a mere noise in the air. The person sent for was destitute of the quality of sympathy. He did not know the ministry of silence. He did not understand that by a mere look, tender, lingering, and sympathetic, he could heal a human heart. Being a newsmonger he brought in the news of the day, which is a sure proof that he would carry the news of the day away with him. When he goeth abroad, he telleth it: there is nothing sacred to the mere talker; there is a disease of words, a gossip which could pry and prattle about the most mysterious and tragical experiences of the heart. The text teaches us how important it is to entrust ourselves in trying moments only to those who are rich in Christian wisdom and sympathy. Few men know how to visit the sick. Those who are in Christ Jesus ought to be able to take rich Christian sympathy to sick-chambers, and to make houses beautiful with instances of Divine revelation and promise and comfort. It should not be beneath the greatest to visit the humblest. The temptation is to over-ride the poor; to make a false use of strength in the presence of the poor; to bear down upon and discourage the poor; such persons should never be sent to minister to souls that are in distress. The piety of Christs Church is not to be roughshod. The saints are to study the gentlest courtesy and grace of manner. They are to act as becometh saints. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v9 Yea, mine own familiar friend
Yea, mine own familiar friend
Psalms 41. is the Psalm of the betrayal of the Son of man, as Jesus Himself taught. Joh 13:18; Joh 13:19. See Psalms 45, next in order of the Messianic Psalms.
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trusted (See Scofield "Psa 2:12").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v7 against me they hope for my hurt
against me they hope for my hurt
Possible meanings are 1) "they hope that very bad things will happen to me" or 2) "they are planning to hurt me."
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An evil disease ... to him
His enemies speak of "disease" as if it were a person who has captured him. AT: "He is sick with a fatal disease" (See: Personification and Metaphor)
An evil disease
Possible meanings are 1) "A fatal disease" or 2) "Something evil"
now that he is lying down, he will rise up no more
Here the words "lying down" refer to lying in bed because of illness. That he will not "rise up" means that he will continue to lie down, which is a euphemism for death. AT: "now that he is sick in bed, he will die there" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Euphemism)
has lifted up his heel against me
This is an idiom that means his friend betrayed him. AT: "has betrayed me" or "has turned against me" (See: Idiom)
translationWords
hope
evil
raise
trust
bread
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v9 41:9 the one who shared my food: Eating together…
41:9 the one who shared my food: Eating together was a sign of unity (Acts 2:42). Refusing to eat with someone indicated hostility (1 Cor 5:11). Jesus experienced the same kind of betrayal (John 13:1, 18).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.