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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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Psalms 73
73
BOOK THREE
Psalms 73–89
A Psalm of Asaph.
1Truly God is good to Israel,
to the pure in heart.
2#Ps 63:1; 84:2 But as for me, my feet almost stumbled;
my steps had almost slipped.
3#Ps 79:10; 80:5 For I was envious at the boastful;
I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4#Isa 30:29; Ps 62:8 For there are no pains in their death;
their bodies are fat.
5#Ps 42:11; 43:5 They are not in trouble as other people;
nor are they plagued like others.
6#2Sa 17:22; Dt 3:8–9 Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them as a garment.
7#Ps 88:7; Jnh 2:3 Their eyes bulge with fatness;
they have more than a heart could wish.
8#Job 35:10; Ps 63:6 They mock and speak with evil oppression;
they speak loftily.
9#Ps 38:6; 18:2 They set their mouth against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
10#Ps 42:3; Joel 2:17 Therefore people turn to them,
and abundant waters are drunk by them.
11#Ps 42:5; 43:5 They say, “How does God know?
And is there knowledge with the Most High?”
12Observe, these are the wicked, always at ease;
they increase in riches.
13Surely I have kept my heart pure for nothing,
and washed my hands in innocence.
14For all the day long I am plagued,
and chastened every morning.
15If I said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.
16When I thought to understand this,
it was troublesome in my eyes,
17until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their end.
18Surely You have set them in slippery places;
You have brought them down to ruin.
19How they come to desolation, as in a moment!
They have come to an end, utterly consumed with terrors.
20As a dream when one awakes,
so, O Lord, when You awake,
You will despise their form.
21Thus my heart was embittered,
and I was pierced in my feelings.
22I was a brute and did not understand;
I was as a beast before You.
23Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You have held me by my right hand.
24You will guide me with Your counsel,
and afterward receive me to glory.
25Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You.
26My flesh and my heart fails,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
27For those who are far from You will perish;
You destroy everyone who is unfaithful to You.
28But it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have taken my refuge in the Lord God,
that I may declare all Your works.
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Military Bible Association