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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Psalms 73: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Psalms 73
73
A psalm of Asaph.
1Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose minds#73:1. Literally, “hearts.” In Hebrew understanding the heart was where thinking was done. are pure.
2But I was stumbling, my feet were starting to slide,#73:2. The psalmist is indicating he was losing faith.
3because I was jealous of self-important people—I saw how well the wicked were doing.
4They don't ever seem to get sick; they are strong and healthy.
5They don't have problems like other people; they don't get hit by disasters like everybody else.
6They wear their pride like a necklace; they clothe themselves with violence.
7Their eyes bulge out because they're so fat; their minds are full of selfish vanity.#73:7. Or “from their evil hearts pours out iniquity.”
8They mock people, and speak maliciously; they arrogantly threaten cruelty.
9They talk irreverently against heaven above, and defame people here on earth.
10As a result people turn to them and drink in everything they say.#73:10. The Hebrew text is hard to understand: “Therefore he brings back his people here and abundant waters are drained by them.”
11“God won't find out,” they say. “The Most High doesn't even know what's going on!”
12Look at these wicked people! They don't have a care in the world, and they're always making money!
13It's been pointless to keep my mind pure and my hands clean.
14I'm cursed with suffering all day long; every morning I'm punished.
15If I'd talked like this to others,#73:15. Referring back to what the wicked said in verse 11. I would have betrayed your people.
16So I thought about it and tried to understand,#73:16. The psalmist is trying to understand why the wicked prosper. but it looked like a lot of hard work to me—
17until I went into God's Temple. Then I understood what happens to the wicked in the end.
18For you send them on a slippery path; you throw them down to destruction.
19How quickly they're destroyed! They come to a terrifying end.
20Like waking up from a dream, Lord—when you get up you will forget all about them!
21At that time my thoughts were bitter. I felt like I had been stabbed.
22I was stupid and ignorant. I was like a brute beast to you.
23Yet I'm always with you; you hold me by the hand.
24You tell me what to do; and ultimately you will welcome me in glory.
25Who is there in heaven for me except you? And I want nothing on earth except you.
26My body and my mind may fail, but God is the foundation of my life. He is mine forever!
27Those people who are far from God will die. You destroy all those unfaithful to you.
28But I love to stay close to God! I have chosen the Lord God to protect me. I will share all that you have done.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com