Psalm 73:3-78:72

English Standard Version

⁴ For they have no pangs until death;
    their bodies are fat and sleek.
⁵ They are not in trouble as others are;
    they are not ^(D)stricken like the rest of mankind.
⁶ Therefore pride is ^(E)their necklace;
    violence covers them as ^(F)a garment.
⁷ Their ^(G)eyes swell out through fatness;
    their hearts overflow with follies.
⁸ They scoff and ^(H)speak with malice;
    loftily they threaten oppression.
⁹ They set their mouths against the heavens,
    and their tongue struts through the earth.
¹⁰ Therefore his people turn back to them,
    and find ^(I)no fault in them.^[a]
11 And they say, ^(J)“How can God know?
    Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
¹² Behold, these are the wicked;
    always at ease, they ^(K)increase in riches.
¹³ All in vain have I ^(L)kept my heart clean
    and ^(M)washed my hands in innocence.
¹⁴ For all the day long I have been ^(N)stricken
    and ^(O)rebuked ^(P)every morning.
¹⁵ If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
    I would have betrayed ^(Q)the generation of your children.

¹⁶ But when I thought how to understand this,
    it seemed to me ^(R)a wearisome task,
¹⁷ until I went into ^(S)the sanctuary of God;
    then I discerned their ^(T)end.

¹⁸ Truly you set them in ^(U)slippery places;
    you make them fall to ruin.
¹⁹ How they are destroyed ^(V)in a moment,
    swept away utterly by ^(W)terrors!
²⁰ Like ^(X)a dream when one awakes,
    O Lord, when ^(Y)you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
²¹ When my soul was embittered,
    when I was pricked in heart,
²² I was ^(Z)brutish and ignorant;
    I was like ^(AA)a beast toward you.

²³ Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
    you ^(AB)hold my right hand.
²⁴ You ^(AC)guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will ^(AD)receive me to glory.
^25 (AE)Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
^26 (AF)My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is ^(AG)the strength^[b] of my heart and my ^(AH)portion ^(AI)forever.

²⁷ For behold, those who are ^(AJ)far from you shall perish;
    you put an end to everyone who is ^(AK)unfaithful to you.
²⁸ But for me it is good to ^(AL)be near God;
    I have made the Lord God my ^(AM)refuge,
    that I may ^(AN)tell of all your works.

⁴ Your foes have ^(AY)roared in the midst of your meeting place;
    ^(AZ)they set up their ^(BA)own signs for ^(BB)signs.
⁵ They were like those who swing ^(BC)axes
    in a forest of trees.^[d]
6 And all its ^(BD)carved wood
    they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
⁷ They ^(BE)set your sanctuary on fire;
    they ^(BF)profaned ^(BG)the dwelling place of your name,
    bringing it down to the ground.
⁸ They ^(BH)said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;
    they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

⁹ We do not see our ^(BI)signs;
    ^(BJ)there is no longer any prophet,
    and there is none among us who knows how long.
¹⁰ How long, O God, ^(BK)is the foe to scoff?
    Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
¹¹ Why ^(BL)do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
    Take it from the fold of your garment^[e] and destroy them!

¹² Yet ^(BM)God my King is from of old,
    working salvation in the midst of the earth.
¹³ You ^(BN)divided the sea by your might;
    you ^(BO)broke the heads of ^(BP)the sea monsters^[f] on the waters.
¹⁴ You crushed the heads of ^(BQ)Leviathan;
    you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
¹⁵ You ^(BR)split open springs and brooks;
    you ^(BS)dried up ever-flowing streams.
¹⁶ Yours is the day, yours also the night;
    you have established ^(BT)the heavenly lights and the sun.
¹⁷ You have ^(BU)fixed all the boundaries of the earth;
    you have made ^(BV)summer and winter.

^18 (BW)Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,
    and ^(BX)a foolish people reviles your name.
¹⁹ Do not deliver the soul of your ^(BY)dove to the wild beasts;
    ^(BZ)do not forget the life of your poor forever.

²⁰ Have regard for ^(CA)the covenant,
    for ^(CB)the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
²¹ Let not ^(CC)the downtrodden ^(CD)turn back in shame;
    let ^(CE)the poor and needy praise your name.

²² Arise, O God, ^(CF)defend your cause;
    ^(CG)remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!
²³ Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
    ^(CH)the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!

² “At ^(CL)the set time that I appoint
    I will judge ^(CM)with equity.
³ When the earth ^(CN)totters, and all its inhabitants,
    it is I who keep steady its ^(CO)pillars. Selah
⁴ I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
    and to the wicked, ^(CP)‘Do not lift up your horn;
⁵ do not lift up your horn on high,
    or speak with haughty neck.’”

⁶ For not from the east or from the west
    and not from the wilderness comes ^(CQ)lifting up,
⁷ but it is ^(CR)God who executes judgment,
    ^(CS)putting down one and lifting up another.
^8 (CT)For in the hand of the Lord there is ^(CU)a cup
    with foaming wine, ^(CV)well mixed,
and he pours out from it,
    and all the wicked of the earth
    shall ^(CW)drain it down to the dregs.

⁹ But I will declare it forever;
    I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
^10 (CX)All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
    ^(CY)but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.

⁴ Glorious are you, more majestic
    ^(DG)than the mountains full of ^(DH)prey.
^5 (DI)The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;
    ^(DJ)they sank into sleep;
all the men of war
    were unable to use their hands.
⁶ At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
    both ^(DK)rider and horse lay stunned.

^7 (DL)But you, you are to be feared!
    Who can ^(DM)stand before you
    when once your anger is roused?
⁸ From the heavens you uttered judgment;
    ^(DN)the earth feared and was still,
⁹ when God ^(DO)arose to establish judgment,
    to save all the humble of the earth. Selah

¹⁰ Surely ^(DP)the wrath of man shall praise you;
    the remnant^[h] of wrath you will put on like a belt.
^11 (DQ)Make your vows to the Lord your God and perform them;
    let all around him ^(DR)bring gifts
    to him who ^(DS)is to be feared,
¹² who ^(DT)cuts off the spirit of princes,
    who ^(DU)is to be feared by the kings of the earth.

⁴ You hold my eyelids open;
    I am so ^(ED)troubled that I cannot speak.
⁵ I consider ^(EE)the days of old,
    the years long ago.
⁶ I said,^[i] “Let me remember my ^(EF)song in the night;
    let me ^(EG)meditate in my heart.”
    Then my spirit made a diligent search:
⁷ “Will the Lord ^(EH)spurn forever,
    and never again ^(EI)be favorable?
⁸ Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
    Are his ^(EJ)promises at an end for all time?
^9 (EK)Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    ^(EL)Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

¹⁰ Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
    to the years of the ^(EM)right hand of the Most High.”^[j]

¹¹ I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will ^(EN)remember your wonders of old.
¹² I will ponder all your ^(EO)work,
    and meditate on your ^(EP)mighty deeds.
¹³ Your way, O God, is ^(EQ)holy.
    ^(ER)What god is great like our God?
¹⁴ You are the God who ^(ES)works wonders;
    you have ^(ET)made known your might among the peoples.
¹⁵ You ^(EU)with your arm redeemed your people,
    the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

¹⁶ When ^(EV)the waters saw you, O God,
    when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
    indeed, the deep trembled.
¹⁷ The clouds poured out water;
    the skies ^(EW)gave forth thunder;
    your ^(EX)arrows flashed on every side.
^18 (EY)The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
    ^(EZ)your lightnings lighted up the world;
    the earth ^(FA)trembled and shook.
¹⁹ Your ^(FB)way was through the sea,
    your path through the great waters;
    yet your footprints ^(FC)were unseen.^[k]
20 You ^(FD)led your people like a flock
    by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

⁵ He established ^(FM)a testimony in ^(FN)Jacob
    and appointed a law in ^(FO)Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
    to teach to their children,
⁶ that ^(FP)the next generation might know them,
    the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
⁷     so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget ^(FQ)the works of God,
    but ^(FR)keep his commandments;
⁸ and that they should not be ^(FS)like their fathers,
    ^(FT)a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation ^(FU)whose heart was not steadfast,
    whose spirit was not faithful to God.

⁹ The Ephraimites, armed with^[m] the bow,
    ^(FV)turned back on the day of battle.
¹⁰ They ^(FW)did not keep God's covenant,
    but refused to walk according to his law.
¹¹ They ^(FX)forgot his works
    and ^(FY)the wonders that he had shown them.
¹² In the sight of their fathers ^(FZ)he performed wonders
    in the land of Egypt, in ^(GA)the fields of Zoan.
¹³ He ^(GB)divided the sea and let them pass through it,
    and made the waters ^(GC)stand like a heap.
^14 (GD)In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
    and all the night with a fiery light.
¹⁵ He ^(GE)split rocks in the wilderness
    and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
¹⁶ He made streams come out of ^(GF)the rock
    and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

¹⁷ Yet they sinned still more against him,
    ^(GG)rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
¹⁸ They ^(GH)tested God in their heart
    by demanding the food they craved.
¹⁹ They spoke against God, saying,
    ^(GI)“Can God ^(GJ)spread a table in the wilderness?
^20 (GK)He struck the rock so that water gushed out
    and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread
    or provide meat for his people?”

²¹ Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of wrath;
    ^(GL)a fire was kindled against Jacob;
    his anger rose against Israel,
²² because they ^(GM)did not believe in God
    and did not trust his saving power.
²³ Yet he commanded the skies above
    and ^(GN)opened the doors of heaven,
²⁴ and he ^(GO)rained down on them manna to eat
    and gave them ^(GP)the grain of heaven.
²⁵ Man ate of the bread of ^(GQ)the angels;
    he sent them food ^(GR)in abundance.
²⁶ He ^(GS)caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
    and by his power he led out the south wind;
²⁷ he rained meat on them like ^(GT)dust,
    winged birds like ^(GU)the sand of the seas;
²⁸ he ^(GV)let them fall in the midst of their camp,
    all around their dwellings.
²⁹ And they ^(GW)ate and were well filled,
    for he gave them what they ^(GX)craved.
³⁰ But before they had satisfied their craving,
    ^(GY)while the food was still in their mouths,
³¹ the anger of God rose against them,
    and he killed ^(GZ)the strongest of them
    and laid low ^(HA)the young men of Israel.

³² In spite of all this, they ^(HB)still sinned;
    ^(HC)despite his wonders, they did not believe.
³³ So he made ^(HD)their days ^(HE)vanish like^[n] a breath,^[o]
    and their years in terror.
³⁴ When he killed them, they ^(HF)sought him;
    they repented and sought God earnestly.
³⁵ They remembered that God was their ^(HG)rock,
    the Most High God their ^(HH)redeemer.
³⁶ But they ^(HI)flattered him with their mouths;
    they ^(HJ)lied to him with their tongues.
³⁷ Their ^(HK)heart was not ^(HL)steadfast toward him;
    they were not faithful to his covenant.
³⁸ Yet he, being ^(HM)compassionate,
    ^(HN)atoned for their iniquity
    and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
    and did not stir up all his wrath.
³⁹ He ^(HO)remembered that they were but ^(HP)flesh,
    ^(HQ)a wind that passes and comes not again.
⁴⁰ How often they ^(HR)rebelled against him in the wilderness
    and ^(HS)grieved him in ^(HT)the desert!
⁴¹ They ^(HU)tested God again and again
    and provoked ^(HV)the Holy One of Israel.
⁴² They ^(HW)did not remember his power^[p]
    or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
^43 (HX)when he performed his ^(HY)signs in Egypt
    and his ^(HZ)marvels in ^(IA)the fields of Zoan.
⁴⁴ He ^(IB)turned their rivers to blood,
    so that they could not drink of their streams.
⁴⁵ He sent among them swarms of ^(IC)flies, which devoured them,
    and ^(ID)frogs, which destroyed them.
⁴⁶ He gave their crops to ^(IE)the destroying locust
    and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
⁴⁷ He destroyed their vines with ^(IF)hail
    and their sycamores with frost.
⁴⁸ He gave over their ^(IG)cattle to the hail
    and their flocks to thunderbolts.
⁴⁹ He let loose on them his burning anger,
    wrath, indignation, and distress,
    a company of ^(IH)destroying angels.
⁵⁰ He made a path for his anger;
    he did not spare them from death,
    but gave their lives over to the plague.
⁵¹ He struck down every ^(II)firstborn in Egypt,
    the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of ^(IJ)Ham.
⁵² Then he led out his people ^(IK)like sheep
    and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
^53 (IL)He led them in safety, so that they ^(IM)were not afraid,
    but ^(IN)the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
⁵⁴ And he brought them to his ^(IO)holy land,
    ^(IP)to the mountain which his right hand had ^(IQ)won.
⁵⁵ He ^(IR)drove out nations before them;
    he ^(IS)apportioned them for a possession
    and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

⁵⁶ Yet they ^(IT)tested and ^(IU)rebelled against the Most High God
    and did not keep his testimonies,
⁵⁷ but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
    they twisted like ^(IV)a deceitful bow.
⁵⁸ For they ^(IW)provoked him to anger with their ^(IX)high places;
    they ^(IY)moved him to jealousy with their ^(IZ)idols.
⁵⁹ When God heard, he was full of ^(JA)wrath,
    and he utterly rejected Israel.
⁶⁰ He ^(JB)forsook his dwelling at ^(JC)Shiloh,
    the tent where he dwelt among mankind,
⁶¹ and delivered his ^(JD)power to captivity,
    his ^(JE)glory to the hand of the foe.
⁶² He ^(JF)gave his people over to the sword
    and ^(JG)vented his wrath on his heritage.
^63 (JH)Fire devoured their young men,
    and their young women had no ^(JI)marriage song.
⁶⁴ Their ^(JJ)priests fell by the sword,
    and their ^(JK)widows made no lamentation.
⁶⁵ Then the Lord ^(JL)awoke as from sleep,
    like a strong man shouting because of wine.
⁶⁶ And he ^(JM)put his adversaries to rout;
    he put them to everlasting shame.

⁶⁷ He rejected the tent of ^(JN)Joseph;
    he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
⁶⁸ but he chose the tribe of Judah,
    Mount Zion, which he ^(JO)loves.
⁶⁹ He ^(JP)built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
    like the earth, which he has founded forever.
⁷⁰ He ^(JQ)chose David his servant
    and took him from the sheepfolds;
⁷¹ from ^(JR)following the nursing ewes he brought him
    to ^(JS)shepherd Jacob his people,
    Israel his ^(JT)inheritance.
⁷² With ^(JU)upright heart he shepherded them
    and ^(JV)guided them with his skillful hand.