Psalm 73

New Century Version

⁴ They are not suffering;
    they are healthy and strong.
⁵ They don’t have troubles like the rest of us;
    they don’t have problems like other people.
⁶ They wear pride like a necklace
    and put on violence as their clothing.
⁷ They are looking for profits
    and do not control their selfish desires.
⁸ They make fun of others and speak evil;
    proudly they speak of hurting others.
⁹ They brag to the sky.
    They say that they own the earth.
¹⁰ So their people turn to them
    and give them whatever they want.
¹¹ They say, “How can God know?
    What does God Most High know?”
¹² These people are wicked,
    always at ease, and getting richer.
¹³ So why have I kept my heart pure?
    Why have I kept my hands from doing wrong?
¹⁴ I have suffered all day long;
    I have been punished every morning.

¹⁵ God, if I had decided to talk like this,
    I would have let your people down.
¹⁶ I tried to understand all this,
    but it was too hard for me to see
¹⁷ until I went to the Temple of God.
    Then I understood what will happen to them.
¹⁸ You have put them in danger;
    you cause them to be destroyed.
¹⁹ They are destroyed in a moment;
    they are swept away by terrors.
²⁰ It will be like waking from a dream.
    Lord, when you rise up, they will disappear.

²¹ When my heart was sad
    and I was angry,
²² I was senseless and stupid.
    I acted like an animal toward you.
²³ But I am always with you;
    you have held my hand.
²⁴ You guide me with your advice,
    and later you will receive me in honor.
²⁵ I have no one in heaven but you;
    I want nothing on earth besides you.
²⁶ My body and my mind may become weak,
    but God is my strength.
    He is mine forever.

²⁷ Those who are far from God will die;
    you destroy those who are unfaithful.
²⁸ But I am close to God, and that is good.
    The Lord God is my protection.
    I will tell all that you have done.