Introduction

Psalm 41:5 reads as follows according to the Masoretic Text:^[1]

אֲֽנִי־אָ֭מַרְתִּי יְהוָ֣ה חָנֵּ֑נִי

רְפָאָ֥ה נַ֝פְשִׁ֗י כִּי־חָטָ֥אתִי לָֽךְ׃

The words אֲנִי־אָמַרְתִּי introduce a quotation ("I said" or "I say"), but translations disagree on the extent of the quotation. Compare, for example, the NRSVue and the NET:

As for me, I said, "O Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you" (NRSVue).
As for me, I said: "O Lord, have mercy on me! Heal me, for I have sinned against you. My enemies ask this cruel question about me, 'When will he finally die and be forgotten?' When someone comes to visit, he pretends to be friendly; he thinks of ways to defame me, and when he leaves he slanders me. All who hate me whisper insults about me to one another; they plan ways to harm me. They say, 'An awful disease overwhelms him, and now that he is bedridden he will never recover.' Even my close friend whom I trusted, he who shared meals with me, has turned against me. As for you, O Lord, have mercy on me and raise me up, so I can pay them back!" (NET).

According to the NRSVue, the quotation ends at the end of v. 5. According to the NET, however, the quotation runs through the end of v. 11.

Translations also disagree on the tense of the verb אָמַרְתִּי, whether it is past ("I said;" so NRSVue, NET, and most English translations) or present ("I say;" cf. HFA, GNB, S21, PDV2017, NFC, NBS, NVS78P). This issue of tense can be treated as part of the larger issue regarding the extent of the quotation.

Argument Maps

v. 5

Most of the modern translations consulted close the quotation at the end of v. 5.


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[v. 5]: The quotation introduced in v. 5 (אֲנִי־אָמַרְתִּי) extends only to the end of v. 5 (Gerstenberger 1988, 175 :C:).#dispreferred
 + <אֲנִי אָמַרְתִּי introducing short quotation>: In Biblical Hebrew poems, quotations introduced with אֲנִי אָמַרְתִּי are typically short, not extending beyond the verse in which they begin.#dispreferred
  + [אֲנִי אָמַרְתִּי introducing short quotation]: E.g., "3 You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. 4 I said (וַאֲנִי אָמַרְתִּי), 'I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.' 5 The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head" (Jonah 2:3–5 \[Hebrew: 4–6\], NIV; cf. Pss 30:7; 31:23; 82:6; 116:11).#dispreferred
 + <vv. 5–6 parallel>: The verb אָמַרְתִּי in v. 5 is paralleled by the verb יֹאמְרוּ in v. 6. There is a contrast between what the psalmist says (v. 5) and what his enemies say (v. 6) (cf. Symmachus). #dispreferred
  + [vv. 5–6b in Symmachus]: "While I was saying (ἐμοῦ λέγοντος), 'Lord have mercy on me; heal my soul, even though I have sinned against you,' my enemies were saying (ἔλεγον) bad things about me."#dispreferred
 + <Discourse shift>: There is a shift in the discourse between v. 5 and v. 6.#dispreferred
  + <Speech act>: Verse 5 is a request for healing, whereas vv. 6–10 are a description of the psalmist's enemies.#dispreferred
  + <Macrosyntax>: Verse 6 introduces a new topic into the discourse: the psalmist's enemies. This topic is fronted to mark the transition and continues as the discourse topic through v. 10.#dispreferred

vv. 5–11 (preferred)

Some modern translations continue the quotation through the end of v. 11.


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[vv. 5–11]: The quotation introduced in v. 5 (אֲנִי־אָמַרְתִּי) extends through the end of v. 11 (Gunkel 1968, 173 :C:; Goldingay 2006, 580–581 :C:; Levin and Müller 2024 :C:).
 + <אֲנִי אָמַרְתִּי in Isaiah 38>: In Isaiah 38, which is also a poem about sickness and recovery, אֲנִי אָמַרְתִּי functions to introduce a long prayer that Hezekiah had prayed in the past.
  + [Isa 38:9–14]: "9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery: 10 I said (אֲנִי אָמַרְתִּי), 'In the prime of my life must I go through the gates of death and be robbed of the rest of my years?' 11 I said (אָמַרְתִּי), 'I will not again see the Lord himself in the land of the living; no longer will I look on my fellow man, or be with those who now dwell in this world. 12 Like a shepherd’s tent my house has been pulled down and taken from me. Like a weaver I have rolled up my life, and he has cut me off from the loom; day and night you made an end of me. 13 I waited patiently till dawn, but like a lion he broke all my bones; day and night you made an end of me. 14 I cried like a swift or thrush, I moaned like a mourning dove. My eyes grew weak as I looked to the heavens. I am being threatened; Lord, come to my aid!'" (Isa 38:9–14, NIV).
 + <Poetic structure>: Verses 5–11 constitute a unified section of the poem (cf. Barbiero 2019 :A:). This poetic continuity implies continuity in the direct speech introduced in v. 5.
  + <Inclusio>: Verses 5–11 are framed by an inclusio (cf. Hossfeld and Zenger 1993, 258 :C:; Böhler 2021, 753 :C:).
   + [vv. 5, 11]: "I said, 'YHWH, be merciful to me! Heal me, because I have sinned against you! ... But you, YHWH, be merciful to me and raise me up, so that I can repay them!" (CBC)
  + <ABCA'B'C' patterm>: Within the unit of vv. 5–11, which is framed by an inclusio, vv. 6–10 are structured in an ABCA'B'C' pattern: A. enemies (v. 6a). B. direct quotation (v. 6b). C. false friend (v. 7). A.' enemies (v. 8). B'. direct quotation (v. 9). C'. false friend (v. 10) (Barbiero 2019, 326 :A:).
   + [vv. 6–10]: "6. My enemies say bad things about me: 'When will he die and his name come to an end?' 7. And when someone comes to visit, he speaks lies. His mind gathers evil for itself. When he leaves, he speaks outside. 8. All those who hate me whisper together about me.
Against me, they imagine bad things for me: 9. 'Something deadly has been poured into him,
and the one who has lain down will not get up again.' 10. Even my trusted friend,
someone who ate my food, has exalted himself against me at the heel." (CBC)
 + <vv. 5–11 as an earlier prayer>: Verses 5–11 constitute an earlier prayer (perhaps even an earlier poem), which the psalmist had prayed (or composed) when he was sick (Levin and Müller 2024 :C:). The words אֲנִי אָמַרְתִּי function to introduce this earlier prayer.
  - <אָמַרְתִּי as performative>: The verb אָמַרְתִּי is not past tense ("I said"), but performative: "I (hereby) say" (Gerstenberger 1988, 175 :C:; Barbiero 2019, 333 :A:; Spieckermann 2023, 418 :C:).#dispreferred
   + [אֲנִי אָמַרְתִּי introducing actual speech]: "The closest parallels in the OT of 'I said/say' opening a citation are Pss 31:15; 40:8, 11; 75:5; 119:57; 140:7; 142:6; Jonah 2:5; Job 6:22; 31:24; 32:10. Many of these formulas introduce, according to contextual evidence, *actual* \[= present rather than past, reported\] speech (Pss 31:15; 119:57; 140:7; 142:6; Jonah 2:5; Job 32:10)" (Gerstenberger 1988, 175 :C:).#dispreferred
  + <Poetic structure>
   - <Alternative poetic structure>: The psalm has four sections: vv. 2–4, vv. 5–7, vv. 8–10, vv. 11–13 (van der Lugt 2006, 412 :C:; Weber 2016, 194–196 :C:; Spieckermann 2023, 418–423 :C:). According to this division, vv. 5–11 are not united poetically. Rather, these verses belong to three different sections. #dispreferred
    + <v. 11 with vv. 12–13>: "There are no less than four transition markers indicating that v. 11 is the beginning of a strophe" (van der Lugt 2006, 417 :C:).#dispreferred
     + [Transition markers in v. 11]: waw (וְ), second person pronoun (אַתָּה), vocative (יְהוָה), imperatives (חָנֵּנִי וַהֲקִימֵנִי) (van der Lugt 2006, 413 :C:).#dispreferred
    + <Alternating pattern of repetitions>: "There are small clusters of verbal repetitions displaying an alternating pattern: vv. 2–4.5–7|8–10.11–13 > a.b|a’.b’" (van der Lugt 2006, 417 :C:).#dispreferred
     + [Alternating pattern of repetitions]: E.g., vv. 2–4 (a) and vv. 8–10 (a’): אַשְׁרֵי...וְאֻשַּׁר (vv. 2–3) – וַאֲשֶׁר...אֲשֶׁר (vv. 9–10); רָעָה (vv. 2, 8), כָּל (vv. 4, 8), מִשְׁכָּבוֹ (v. 4) – שָׁכַב (v. 9); vv. 5–7 (b) and vv. 11–13 (b’): אֲנִי (vv. 5, 13) יְהוָה חָנֵּנִי (vv. 5, 11); אוֹיְבַי (v. 6) – אֹיְבִי (v. 12) (van der Lugt 2006, 413 :C:).#dispreferred
  + <Coherence>: Verses 5–11 reflect a situation in which the psalmist is sick and suffering. By contrast, the surrounding verses (vv. 2–4, vv. 12–14) presuppose a situation in which the psalmist has already recovered from his sickness. 
   + <Time in vv. 2–4, 12–14>: Some of the clauses in vv. 2–4, 12–14 suggest that the psalmist has recovered from his sickness and is presently in a state of security.
    + [v. 4b]: "You transformed (הָפַכְתָּ) his entire bed when he was ill." (CBC)
    + [v. 13a]: "And as for me, you have upheld (תָּמַכְתָּ) me because of my integrity..." (CBC)
    + [v. 12]: "This is how I know (יָדַעְתִּי) that you take pleasure in me: because my enemy does not shout joyfully over me." (CBC)

Conclusion (B)

The speech introduced in v. 5 likely continues through the end of v. 11 (so, e.g., NET). Three main arguments support this interpretation:

Verses 5–11 reflect a situation in which the psalmist is sick and suffering. By contrast, the surrounding verses (vv. 2–4, vv. 12–14) presuppose a situation in which the psalmist has already recovered from his sickness. The coherence of vv. 5–11 in contrast to vv. 2–4, 12–14 suggests that all of vv. 5–11 are a quotation of the psalmist's past prayer.
The poetic structure helps to confirm this suggestion. Verses 5–11 constitute a unified section of the poem. This poetic continuity implies continuity in the direct speech introduced in v. 5.
The long quotation introduced by אֲנִי אָמַרְתִּי has a parallel in Isaiah 38, which, like Psalm 41, is also a poem about sickness and recovery. In this poem, אֲנִי אָמַרְתִּי functions to introduce a long prayer that Hezekiah had prayed in the past. As in Psalm 41, the reported past prayer in Isaiah 38 has been integrated with the rest of the poem.

The strongest objection to this conclusion is based on an alternative analysis of the poetic structure: vv. 2–4, 5–7, 8–10, 11–13 (+14). If this alternative analysis of the structure is adopted, then it would make it unlikely that the quotation continues across vv. 5–11, since this would require the quotation to run across three separate poetic sections.

This conclusion has significant implications for how one understands the whole psalm. It means that vv. 5–11, which constitute the core of the psalm, is not a present prayer and description of distress, but a report of something that happened in the past.

Research

Translations

Ancient

LXX: ἐγὼ εἶπα Κύριε, ἐλέησόν με, ἴασαι τὴν ψυχήν μου, ὅτι ἥμαρτόν σοι.^[2]
- "As for me, I said, 'O Lord, have mercy on me; heal my soul, because I sinned against you.'"^[3]
Symmachus: ἐμοῦ λέγοντος κύριε οἴκτειρόν με ἴασαι τὴν ψυχήν μου καὶ εἰ ἥμαρτόν σοι, (6) οἱ ἐχθροί μου ἔλεγον κακά περὶ ἐμοῦ^[4]
- "While I was saying, 'Lord have mercy on me; heal my soul, even though I have sinned against you,' my enemies were saying bad things about me."
Jerome (iuxta Hebr.): ego dixi Domine miserere mei | sana animam meam quoniam peccavi tibi^[5]
- "I said, 'Lord have mercy on me; heal my soul, because I have sinned against you.'"
Targum: אנא אמרית ייי חוס עלי אסי נפשי מטול דחבית קדמך׃^[6]
- "I said, 'O Lord, have pity on me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.'"^[7]
Peshitta: ܐܢܐ ܐܡܪܬ ܕܐܢܬ ܗܘ ܡܪܝ ܪܚܡ ܥܠܝ ܘܐܣܗ̇ ܠܢܦܫܝ ܡܛܠ ܕܚܛܝܬ ܠܟ^[8]
- "I said, 'You are my Lord; be merciful to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you.'"^[9]

Modern

v. 5

As for me, I said, "O Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you" (NRSVue; so also ESV, RJPS, CEB, NIV, NLT, CEV, GNT, NEB, REB, NJB, HFA, GNB, BDS, TOB, S21, PDV2017, RVR95, NVI, DHH94I)

"I said" (past tense)

I said (NRSVue, NIV, ESV, KJV, GNT, NET, NJB, NEB, REB, RJPS)
I prayed (NLT, CEV)
J’ai dit (BDS)
Je disais (TOB)
Yo dije (RVR95)
Yo he dicho (NVI, DHH94I)

"I say" (present tense)

Deshalb bete ich zu dir (HFA)
Weil ich das weiß, sage ich (GNB)
Je dis (S21, PDV2017)
Moi, je m'adresse au Seigneur (NFC)

vv. 5–11

As for me, I said: "O Lord, have mercy on me! Heal me, for I have sinned against you. My enemies ask this cruel question about me, 'When will he finally die and be forgotten?' When someone comes to visit, he pretends to be friendly; he thinks of ways to defame me, and when he leaves he slanders me. All who hate me whisper insults about me to one another; they plan ways to harm me. They say, 'An awful disease overwhelms him, and now that he is bedridden he will never recover.' Even my close friend whom I trusted, he who shared meals with me, has turned against me. As for you, O Lord, have mercy on me and raise me up, so I can pay them back!" (NET; so also NABR: "I have said")

Ambiguous (no quotation marks)

"I said" (past tense)

Ich sprach: ... (LUT, ELB, ZÜR)
Ich sagte: ... (EÜ)
Dije yo: ... (BTX4)

"I say" (present tense)

Moi, je dis (NBS)
Je dis (NVS78P)

Secondary Literature

Barbiero, Gianni. 2019. “Psalm 41:14, or the Unity of the Masoretic Psalm 41.” Old Testament Essays 32, no. 2.

Böhler, Dieter. 2021. Psalmen 1-50. Herders theologischer Kommentar zum Alten Testament. Freiburg/Basel/Wien: Herder.

Gerstenberger, Erhard. 1988. Psalms, Part 1: With an Introduction to Cultic Poetry. FOTL 14. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Goldingay, John. 2006. Psalms: Psalms 1–41. Vol. 1. BCOT. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

Gunkel, Hermann. 1968. Die Psalmen. 5th ed. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

Hossfeld, Frank-Lothar, and Erich Zenger. 1993. Die Psalmen I: Psalm 1–50. Neue Echter Bibel. Würzburg: Echter.

Levin, Christoph, and Reinhard Müller. 2024. Die Psalmen in ihrer Urgestalt. München: C.H. Beck.

Lugt, Pieter van der. 2006. Cantos and Strophes in Biblical Hebrew Poetry: With Special Reference to the First Book of the Psalter. Vol. 1. Oudtestamentische Studiën 53. Leiden: Brill.

Spieckermann, Hermann. 2023. Psalmen. 1: Psalm 1 - 49. Das Alte Testament Deutsch, 14,1. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

Weber, Beat. 2016. Werkbuch Psalmen. 2. aktualisierte Auflage. Stuttgart: Verlag W. Kohlhammer.

References

41:5

↑ OSHB.
↑ Rahlfs 1931, 146.
↑ NETS.
↑ Göttingen Hexapla Database.
↑ Weber-Gryson 2007 (5th edition), 819.
↑ CAL.
↑ Stec 2004, 86.
↑ Walter and Vogel 1982; cf. CAL.
↑ Taylor 2020, 159.

[1] OSHB.

[2] Rahlfs 1931, 146.

[3] NETS.

[4] Göttingen Hexapla Database.

[5] Weber-Gryson 2007 (5th edition), 819.

[6] CAL.

[7] Stec 2004, 86.

[8] Walter and Vogel 1982; cf. CAL.

[9] Taylor 2020, 159.

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The Extent of the Quotation in Psalm 41:5

Contents

Introduction

Argument Maps

v. 5

vv. 5–11 (preferred)

Conclusion (B)

Research

Translations

Ancient

Modern

v. 5

"I said" (past tense)

"I say" (present tense)

vv. 5–11

Ambiguous (no quotation marks)

"I said" (past tense)

"I say" (present tense)

Secondary Literature

References