Psalms 73
73
Book Three
Psalms 73—89
The Justice of God#Ps 73 Hebrew title: By Asaph.
1God is indeed good to Israel,
to those who have pure hearts.
2But I had nearly lost confidence;
my faith was almost gone
3because I was jealous of the proud
when I saw that things go well for the wicked.
4They do not suffer pain;
they are strong and healthy.
5They do not suffer as other people do;
they do not have the troubles that others have.
6And so they wear pride like a necklace
and violence like a robe;
7their hearts pour out evil,#73.7 Some ancient translations their hearts pour out evil; Hebrew unclear.
and their minds are busy with wicked schemes.
8They laugh at other people and speak of evil things;
they are proud and make plans to oppress others.
9They speak evil of God in heaven
and give arrogant orders to everyone on earth,
10so that even God's people turn to them
and eagerly believe whatever they say.#73.10 Verse 10 in Hebrew is unclear.
11They say, “God will not know;
the Most High will not find out.”
12That is what the wicked are like.
They have plenty and are always getting more.
13Is it for nothing, then, that I have kept myself pure
and have not committed sin?
14O God, you have made me suffer all day long;
every morning you have punished me.
15If I had said such things,
I would not be acting as one of your people.
16I tried to think this problem through,
but it was too difficult for me
17until I went into your Temple.
Then I understood what will happen to the wicked.
18You will put them in slippery places
and make them fall to destruction!
19They are instantly destroyed;
they go down to a horrible end.
20They are like a dream that goes away in the morning;
when you rouse yourself, O Lord, they disappear.
21When my thoughts were bitter
and my feelings were hurt,
22I was as stupid as an animal;
I did not understand you.
23Yet I always stay close to you,
and you hold me by the hand.
24You guide me with your instruction
and at the end you will receive me with honour.
25What else have I in heaven but you?
Since I have you, what else could I want on earth?
26My mind and my body may grow weak,
but God is my strength;
he is all I ever need.
27Those who abandon you will certainly perish;
you will destroy those who are unfaithful to you.
28But as for me, how wonderful to be near God,
to find protection with the Sovereign LORD
and to proclaim all that he has done!
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Psalms 73: GNBDC
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Psalms 73
73
The Trial of the Just
1A psalm of Asaph.
How good God is to the upright,
to those who are pure of heart!
I
2But, as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped,
3Because I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.#Ps 37:1; Jb 21:13.
4For they suffer no pain;
their bodies are healthy and sleek.
5They are free of the burdens of life;
they are not afflicted like others.
6Thus pride adorns them as a necklace;
violence clothes them as a robe.
7Out of such blindness comes sin;
evil thoughts flood their hearts.#Jb 15:27.
8They scoff and spout their malice;
from on high they utter threats.#Ps 17:10.
9#They set their mouths against the heavens: in an image probably derived from mythic stories of half-divine giants, the monstrous speech of the wicked is likened to enormous jaws gaping wide, devouring everything in sight.They set their mouths against the heavens,
their tongues roam the earth.
10#The Hebrew is obscure.So my people turn to them
and drink deeply of their words.
11They say, “Does God really know?”
“Does the Most High have any knowledge?”#Ps 10:11; Jb 22:13.
12Such, then, are the wicked,
always carefree, increasing their wealth.
II
13Is it in vain that I have kept my heart pure,
washed my hands in innocence?#Ps 26:6; Mal 3:14.
14For I am afflicted day after day,
chastised every morning.
15Had I thought, “I will speak as they do,”
I would have betrayed this generation of your children.
16Though I tried to understand all this,
it was too difficult for me,
17Till I entered the sanctuary of God
and came to understand their end.#And came to understand their end: the psalmist receives a double revelation in the Temple: 1) the end of the wicked comes unexpectedly (Ps 73:18–20); 2) God is with me.
III
18You set them, indeed, on a slippery road;
you hurl them down to ruin.
19How suddenly they are devastated;
utterly undone by disaster!
20They are like a dream after waking, Lord,
dismissed like shadows when you arise.#Jb 20:8.
IV
21Since my heart was embittered
and my soul deeply wounded,
22I was stupid and could not understand;
I was like a brute beast in your presence.
23Yet I am always with you;
you take hold of my right hand.#Ps 121:5.
24With your counsel you guide me,
and at the end receive me with honor.#And at the end receive me with honor: a perhaps deliberately enigmatic verse. It is understood by some commentators as reception into heavenly glory, hence the traditional translation, “receive me into glory.” The Hebrew verb can indeed refer to mysterious divine elevation of a righteous person into God’s domain: Enoch in Gn 5:24; Elijah in 2 Kgs 2:11–12; the righteous psalmist in Ps 49:16. Personal resurrection in the Old Testament, however, is clearly attested only in the second century B.C. The verse is perhaps best left unspecified as a reference to God’s nearness and protection.
25Whom else have I in the heavens?
None beside you delights me on earth.
26Though my flesh and my heart fail,
God is the rock of my heart, my portion forever.
27But those who are far from you perish;
you destroy those unfaithful to you.
28As for me, to be near God is my good,
to make the Lord God my refuge.
I shall declare all your works
in the gates of daughter Zion.#In the gates of daughter Zion: this reading follows the tradition of the Septuagint and Vulgate.
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