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
The Wicked and the Righteous Contrasted
A song of Asaph.#The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm
1Surely God is good to Israel,
to those pure of heart.
2But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled.
My steps had nearly slipped,
3because I envied the boastful
when I saw the well-being#Or “peace” or “prosperity” of the wicked.
4For there are no pains up to their death,
and their bodies are healthy.#Literally “fat”
5They do not have ordinary trouble,#Literally “the trouble of man”
and they are not plagued as other people.#Hebrew “humankind”
6Therefore pride is their necklace;
an outfit of violence covers them.
7Their eye bulges from fat.#A slightly different Hebrew reading might be reflected in the LXX’s “their iniquity comes out of fatness”
Imaginings overflow their heart.
8They mock and speak maliciously of oppression;
they speak as though from on high.
9They set their mouth against the heavens,
and their tongue roams the earth.
10Therefore his people turn there,#That is, toward the wicked
and abundant waters are slurped up by them.
11And they say, “How does God know?”
and, “Does the Most High have knowledge?”
12See, these are the wicked,
and they increase wealth, ever carefree.
13Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure,
and washed my hands in innocence.
14And I have been plagued all day
and rebuked every morning.#Literally “to the mornings”
15If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
behold, I would have acted treacherously
against your children’s generation.
16When I thought about how to understand this,
it was troubling in my eyes
17until I went into the sanctuary of God.
Then I understood their fate.
18Surely you set them on slippery places.
You cause them to fall onto ruin.#Or “fall for deceptions”
19How they become a desolation in a moment!
They come to a complete end by terrors.
20Like a dream upon awakening,
when you wake up, O Lord,
you will despise their fleeting form.#Or “image”
21When my heart was embittered
and I felt stabbed in my kidneys,
22then I was brutish and ignorant.
With you I was like the beasts.
23But I am continually with you;
you have hold of my right hand.
24You will guide me with your advice,
and afterward you will take me into honor.#Or “to glory”
25Whom do I have in the heavens except you?
And with you I have no other desire on earth.
26My flesh and heart failed,
but God is the strength#Literally “rock” of my heart and my reward forever.
27For indeed, those distancing themselves from you will be ruined.
You destroy each who abandons you for harlotry.
28But as for me, the approach to God is for my good.
I have set the Lord Yahweh as my refuge,
in order to tell all your works.
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