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 III
(Psalms 73–89)
Psalm 73
A psalm of Asaph.
1Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are have a pure heart.
2But me? My feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped
3because I envied the arrogant;
I observed how the wicked are well off:
4They suffer no pain;
their bodies are fit and strong.
5They are never in trouble;
they aren’t weighed down like other people.
6That’s why they wear arrogance like a necklace,
why violence covers them like clothes.
7Their eyes bulge out from eating so well;
their hearts overflow with delusions.
8They scoff and talk so cruel;
from their privileged positions
they plan oppression.
9Their mouths dare to speak against heaven!
Their tongues roam the earth!
10That’s why people keep going back to them,
keep approving what they say.#73.10 Heb uncertain
11And what they say is this: “How could God possibly know!
Does the Most High know anything at all!”
12Look at these wicked ones,
always relaxed, piling up the wealth!
13Meanwhile, I’ve kept my heart pure for no good reason;
I’ve washed my hands to stay innocent for nothing.
14I’m weighed down all day long.
I’m punished every morning.
15If I said, “I will talk about all this,”
I would have been unfaithful to your children.
16But when I tried to understand these things,
it just seemed like hard work
17until I entered God’s sanctuary
and understood what would happen to the wicked.
18You will definitely put them on a slippery path;
you will make them fall into ruin!
19How quickly they are devastated,
utterly destroyed by terrors!
20As quickly as a dream departs from someone waking up, my Lord,
when you are stirred up, you make them disappear.#73.20 Heb uncertain
21When my heart was bitter,
when I was all cut up inside,
22I was stupid and ignorant.
I acted like nothing but an animal toward you.
23But I was still always with you!
You held my strong hand!
24You have guided me with your advice;
later you will receive me with glory.
25Do I have anyone else in heaven?
There’s nothing on earth I desire except you.
26My body and my heart fail,
but God is my heart’s rock and my share forever.
27Look! Those far from you die;
you annihilate all those who are unfaithful to you.
28But me? It’s good for me to be near God.
I have taken my refuge in you, my LORD God,
so I can talk all about your works!
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