Bible Strands
Psalms 41:11
By this I know that You delight in me, for my enemy does not triumph over me.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God immediately after requesting grace and restoration to confront his adversaries. This declaration bridges a plea for vindication with a concluding affirmation of God's sustaining integrity.
The words — The phrase בְּזֹאת (be./Zot, "by this") ties the psalmist's certainty to a visible outcome. The verb יָדַעְתִּי (Ya.da'.ti, "I know") and phrase אֹיְבִי יָרִיעַ (o.yevi ya.ri'a, "my enemy shouts in triumph") establish a direct contrast between divine approval and human defeat.
The thread — The psalmist links personal deliverance from enemy triumph to God's delight, a pattern repeated in Psalms 25:2 and 124:6 where deliverance from shame and predatory foes confirms protection. Colossians 2:15 applies the same triumph motif to Christ's cross, where disarmed authorities become a public spectacle.
Why it lands — The text states that assurance rests on the observable failure of opposition rather than subjective experience. It requires a reader to anchor confidence in God's sustained upholding and to recognize that continued deliverance functions as evidence of divine favor.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me.
Cross-references
- Colossians 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
- Psalms 124:6 Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
- Psalms 25:2 in You, my God, I trust. Do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.
- Psalms 147:11 The LORD is pleased with those who fear Him, who hope in His loving devotion.
- Jeremiah 20:13 Sing to the LORD! Praise the LORD! For He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.
- Psalms 31:8 You have not delivered me to the enemy; You have set my feet in the open.
- Psalms 86:17 Show me a sign of Your goodness, that my enemies may see and be ashamed; for You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
- Psalms 13:4 lest my enemy say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes rejoice when I fall.
- Psalms 35:25 Let them not say in their hearts, “Aha, just what we wanted!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up!”