Psalms 73
73
Should the Wicked Be Rich?
A song of Asaph.
1God is truly good to Israel,
to those who have pure hearts.
2But I had almost stopped believing this truth.
I had almost lost my faith
3because I was jealous of proud people.
I saw wicked people doing well.
4They are not suffering.
They are healthy and strong.
5They don’t have troubles like the rest of us.
They don’t have problems like other people.
6So they wear pride like a necklace.
They put on violence as their clothing.
7They are looking for profits.
They do not control their selfish desires.
8They make fun of others and speak evil.
Proudly they speak of hurting others.
9They brag to the sky.
Their mouths gossip on the earth.
10So their people turn to them
and give them whatever they want.
11They say, “How can God know?
What does God Most High know?”
12These people are wicked,
always at ease and getting richer.
13So why have I kept my heart pure?
Why have I kept my hands from doing wrong?
14I have suffered all day long.
I have been punished every morning.
15God, if I had decided to talk about this,
I would have let your people down.
16I tried to understand all this.
But it was too hard for me to see
17until I went to the Temple of God.
Then I understood what will happen to them.
18You have put them in danger.
You cause them to be destroyed.
19They are destroyed in a moment.
They are swept away by terrors.
20It will be like waking from a dream.
Lord, when you come, they will disappear.
21When my heart was sad and
I was angry,
22I was senseless and stupid.
I acted like an animal toward you.
23But I am always with you.
You have held my hand.
24You guide me with your advice.
And later you will receive me in honor.
25I have no one in heaven but you.
I want nothing on earth besides you.
26My mind and my body may become weak.
But God is my strength.
He is mine forever.
27Those who are far from God will die.
You destroy those who are unfaithful.
28But I am close to God, and that is good.
The Lord God is my protection.
I will tell all that you have done.
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Psalms 73: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Psalm 73
73
Book Three
God Is My Strength and Portion Forever
A Psalm of #See Ps. 50, titleAsaph.
1Truly God is good to #John 1:47 Israel,
to those who are #See Ps. 24:4pure in heart.
2But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
3 # See Job 21:7 For I was #Ps. 37:1; Prov. 23:17 envious of the arrogant
when I saw the #[Ps. 37:7; 92:7; Jer. 12:1]prosperity of the wicked.
4For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
5They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not #[Isa. 53:4]stricken like the rest of mankind.
6Therefore pride is #[Judg. 8:26] their necklace;
violence covers them as #[Ps. 109:18]a garment.
7Their #See Job 15:27eyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8They scoff and #[2 Pet. 2:18; Jude 16]speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
10Therefore his people turn back to them,
and find #[Job 15:16]no fault in them.#73:10 Probable reading; Hebrew the waters of a full cup are drained by them
11And they say, #See Job 22:13“How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they #[ver. 3]increase in riches.
13All in vain have I #[ver. 1]; See Job 34:9 kept my heart clean
and #See Ps. 26:6washed my hands in innocence.
14For all the day long I have been #[See ver. 5 above] stricken
and #Rev. 3:19 rebuked #[Ps. 101:8]every morning.
15If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have betrayed #[Ps. 14:5]the generation of your children.
16But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me #Eccles. 8:17a wearisome task,
17until I went into #Ps. 20:2 the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their #Ps. 37:38end.
18Truly you set them in #Ps. 35:6slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19How they are destroyed #[Num. 16:21] in a moment,
swept away utterly by #See Job 18:11terrors!
20Like #See Job 20:8 a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when #Ps. 78:65you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
21When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22I was #See Ps. 49:10 brutish and ignorant;
I was like #Job 18:3; [Job 11:12]a beast toward you.
23Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you #Ps. 63:8; [Ps. 41:12]hold my right hand.
24You #Ps. 32:8 guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will #See Ps. 49:15receive me to glory.
25 #
Ps. 16:2; [Phil. 3:8] Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 #
Ps. 40:12; See Ps. 84:2 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is #Ps. 18:2 the strength#73:26 Hebrew rock of my heart and my #See Ps. 16:5 portion #[Dan. 12:3]forever.
27For behold, those who are #Ps. 119:155 far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is #Ps. 106:39; Ex. 34:15; Num. 15:39; James 4:4unfaithful to you.
28But for me it is good to #James 4:8; [Heb. 10:22] be near God;
I have made the Lord God my #See Ps. 14:6 refuge,
that I may #See Ps. 118:17tell of all your works.
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