Bible Strands
Psalms 41:3
The LORD will sustain him on his bed of illness and restore him from his bed of sickness.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Psalmist addresses the LORD regarding his own severe illness, following a declaration of God’s protection in verse 2 and preceding a plea for healing in verse 4.
The words — יִ֭סְעָדֶ/נּוּ (Yis.'a.de./nu) = he will sustain him [H5582] and עֶ֣רֶשׂ (E.res) = a couch of [H6210] appear alongside דְּוָ֑י (de.Vai) = illness [H1741] to describe the physical location of the suffering.
The thread — This promise of divine sustenance in sickness parallels the healing of Hezekiah in 2 Kings 20:5, the declaration that God is the strength of the heart in Psalms 73:26, and the reference to illness in Philippians 2:26.
Why it lands — The text states that Yahweh actively upholds the afflicted and reverses the trajectory of disease, which requires the reader to anchor hope in God's power rather than medical prognosis and to pair trust with repentance as shown in the surrounding context.
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
The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 20:5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people that this is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. I will surely heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the house of the LORD.
- Psalms 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
- Philippians 2:26 For he has been longing for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill.
- 2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
- 2 Kings 1:16 And Elijah said to King Ahaziah, “This is what the LORD says: Is there really no God in Israel for you to inquire of His word? Is that why you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not get up from the bed on which you are lying. You will surely die.”
- 2 Kings 1:6 They replied, “A man came up to meet us and said, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him that this is what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending these men to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not get up from the bed on which you are lying. You will surely die.’”