Psalm 73
73
Book III
The Fate of the Wicked
A Psalm of Asaph.
1Truly God is good to Israel,
even to such as are of a clean heart.
2But as for me, my feet were almost gone;
my steps had well-nigh slipped.
3For I was envious at the foolish,
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4For there are no bands in their death:
but their strength is firm.
5They are not in trouble as other men;
neither are they plagued like other men.
6Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain;
violence covereth them as a garment.
7Their eyes stand out with fatness:
they have more than heart could wish.
8They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression:
they speak loftily.
9They set their mouth against the heavens,
and their tongue walketh through the earth.
10Therefore his people return hither:
and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them.
11And they say, How doth God know?
And is there knowledge in the Most High?
12Behold, these are the ungodly,
who prosper in the world;
they increase in riches.
13Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain,
and washed my hands in innocency.
14For all the day long have I been plagued,
and chastened every morning.
15If I say, I will speak thus;
behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children.
16When I thought to know this,
it was too painful for me;
17until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then understood I their end.
18Surely thou didst set them in slippery places:
thou castedst them down into destruction.
19How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment!
They are utterly consumed with terrors.
20As a dream when one awaketh;
so, O Lord, when thou awakest,
thou shalt despise their image.
21Thus my heart was grieved,
and I was pricked in my reins.
22So foolish was I, and ignorant:
I was as a beast before thee.
23Nevertheless I am continually with thee:
thou hast holden me by my right hand.
24Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel,
and afterward receive me to glory.
25Whom have I in heaven but thee?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.
26My flesh and my heart faileth:
but God is the strength of my heart,
and my portion for ever.
27For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish:
thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee.
28But it is good for me to draw near to God:
I have put my trust in the Lord God,
that I may declare all thy works.
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Psalm 73: KJVAAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
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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