Psalms 73
73
BOOK THREE
(Psalms 73–89)
Psalm 73
A psalm by Asaph.
1God is truly good to Israel,
to those whose lives are pure.
2But my feet had almost stumbled.
They had almost slipped
3because I was envious of arrogant people
when I saw the prosperity that wicked people enjoy.
4They suffer no pain.
Their bodies are healthy.
5They have no drudgery in their lives like ordinary people.
They are not plagued ⌞with problems⌟ like others.
6That is why they wear arrogance like a necklace
and acts of violence like clothing.
7Their eyes peer out from their fat faces,
and their imaginations run wild.
8They ridicule.
They speak maliciously.
They speak arrogantly about oppression.
9They verbally attack heaven,
and they order people around on earth.
10That is why God’s people turn to wickedness
and swallow their words.
11Then wicked people ask, “What does God know?”
“Does the Most High know anything?”
12Look how wicked they are!
They never have a worry.
They grow more and more wealthy.
13I’ve received no reward for keeping my life pure
and washing my hands of any blame.
14I’m plagued ⌞with problems⌟ all day long,
and every morning my punishment ⌞begins again⌟.
15If I had said, “I will continue to talk like that,”
I would have betrayed God’s people.
16But when I tried to understand this,
it was too difficult for me.
17Only when I came into God’s holy place
did I ⌞finally⌟ understand what would happen to them.
18You put them in slippery places
and make them fall into ruin.
19They are suddenly destroyed.
They are completely swept away by terror!
20As ⌞someone⌟ gets rid of a dream when he wakes up,
so you, O Lord, get rid of the thought of them
when you wake up.
21When my heart was filled with bitterness
and my mind was seized ⌞with envy⌟,
22I was stupid, and I did not understand.
I was like a dumb animal in your presence.
23Yet, I am always with you.
You hold on to my right hand.
24With your advice you guide me,
and in the end you will take me to glory.
25As long as I have you,
I don’t need anyone else in heaven or on earth.
26My body and mind may waste away,
but God remains the foundation of my life
and my inheritance forever.
27Without a doubt, those who are far from you will die.
You destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
28Being united with God is my highest good.
I have made the Almighty Lord my refuge
so that I may report everything that he has done.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Psalms 73
73
BOOK III.
A Psalm of Asaph.
1Surely God is good to Israel,
Even to such as are pure in heart.
2But as for me, my feet were almost gone;
my steps had well nigh slipped.
3For I was envious at the arrogant,
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 is as a chain about their neck;
Violence covereth them as a garment.
7Their eyes stand out with fatness:
They have more than heart could wish.
8They scoff, and in wickedness utter oppression:
They speak loftily.
9They have set their mouth in the heavens,
And their tongue walketh through the earth.
10Therefore his people return hither:
And waters of a full cup are wrung out by them.
11And they say, How doth God know?
And is there knowledge in the Most High?
12Behold, these are the wicked;
And, being alway at ease, they increase in riches
13Surely in vain have I cleansed my heart,
And washed my hands in innocency;
14For all the day long have I been plagued,
And chastened every morning.
15If I had said, I will speak thus;
Behold, I had dealt treacherously with the generation of thy children.
16When I thought how I might know this,
It was too painful for me;
17Until I went into the sanctuary of God,
And considered their latter end.
18Surely thou settest them in slippery places:
Thou castest them down to destruction.
19How are they become a desolation 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.
21For my heart was grieved,
And I was pricked in my reins:
22So brutish was I, and ignorant;
I was as a beast before thee.
23Nevertheless I am continually with thee:
Thou hast holden 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 beside 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 unto God:
I have made the Lord GODmy refuge,
That I may tell of all thy works.
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historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society