BOOK 3

The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.

A Psalm of Asaph.

73 Surely God is (A)good to Israel,
To those who are (B)pure in heart!
But as for me, (C)my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps [a]had almost slipped.
For I was (D)envious of the [b]arrogant
As I saw the (E)prosperity of the wicked.
For there are no pains in their death,
And their [c]body is fat.
They are (F)not [d]in trouble as other [e]men,
Nor are they (G)plagued [f]like mankind.
Therefore pride is (H)their necklace;
The (I)garment of violence covers them.
Their eye [g]bulges from (J)fatness;
The imaginations of their heart [h]run riot.
They (K)mock and [i]wickedly speak of oppression;
They (L)speak from on high.
They have (M)set their mouth [j]against the heavens,
And their tongue [k]parades through the earth.

10 Therefore [l]his people return to this place,
And waters of (N)abundance are [m]drunk by them.
11 They say, “(O)How does God know?
And is there knowledge [n]with the Most High?”
12 Behold, (P)these are the wicked;
And always (Q)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13 Surely (R)in vain I have [o]kept my heart pure
And (S)washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken (T)all day long
And [p](U)chastened every morning.

15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the (V)generation of Your children.
16 When I (W)pondered to understand this,
It was [q]troublesome in my sight
17 Until I came into the [r](X)sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their (Y)end.
18 Surely You set them in (Z)slippery places;
You cast them down to [s](AA)destruction.
19 How they are [t](AB)destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by (AC)sudden terrors!
20 Like a (AD)dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when (AE)aroused, You will (AF)despise their [u]form.

21 When my (AG)heart was embittered
And I was (AH)pierced [v]within,
22 Then I was (AI)senseless and ignorant;
I was like [w]a (AJ)beast [x]before You.
23 Nevertheless (AK)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 With Your counsel You will (AL)guide me,
And afterward (AM)receive me [y]to glory.

25 (AN)Whom have I in heaven but You?
And [z]besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My (AO)flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the [aa]strength of my heart and my (AP)portion forever.
27 For, behold, (AQ)those who are far from You will (AR)perish;
You have [ab]destroyed all those who [ac](AS)are unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, (AT)the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord [ad]God my (AU)refuge,
That I may (AV)tell of all Your works.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 73:2 Lit were caused to slip
  2. Psalm 73:3 Or boasters
  3. Psalm 73:4 Or belly
  4. Psalm 73:5 Lit in the trouble of men
  5. Psalm 73:5 Or mortals
  6. Psalm 73:5 Lit with
  7. Psalm 73:7 Lit goes forth
  8. Psalm 73:7 Lit overflow
  9. Psalm 73:8 Or they speak in wickedness; From on high they speak of oppression
  10. Psalm 73:9 Or in
  11. Psalm 73:9 Lit walks
  12. Psalm 73:10 Or His
  13. Psalm 73:10 Lit drained out
  14. Psalm 73:11 Lit in
  15. Psalm 73:13 Or cleansed my heart
  16. Psalm 73:14 Lit my chastening
  17. Psalm 73:16 Lit labor, trouble
  18. Psalm 73:17 Lit sanctuaries
  19. Psalm 73:18 Lit ruins
  20. Psalm 73:19 Lit become a desolation
  21. Psalm 73:20 Or image
  22. Psalm 73:21 Lit in my kidneys
  23. Psalm 73:22 Or an animal
  24. Psalm 73:22 Lit with You
  25. Psalm 73:24 Or with honor
  26. Psalm 73:25 Or with
  27. Psalm 73:26 Lit rock
  28. Psalm 73:27 Or silenced
  29. Psalm 73:27 Lit go to a whoring from
  30. Psalm 73:28 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord

73 A Psalm of Asaph. Only -- good to Israel [is] God, to the clean of heart. And I -- as a little thing, My feet have been turned aside,

As nothing, have my steps slipped, For I have been envious of the boastful,

The peace of the wicked I see, That there are no bands at their death,

And their might [is] firm.

In the misery of mortals they are not, And with common men they are not plagued.

Therefore hath pride encircled them, Violence covereth them as a dress.

Their eye hath come out from fat. The imaginations of the heart transgressed;

They do corruptly, And they speak in the wickedness of oppression, From on high they speak.

They have set in the heavens their mouth, And their tongue walketh in the earth.

10 Therefore do His people return hither, And waters of fulness are wrung out to them.

11 And they have said, `How hath God known? And is there knowledge in the Most High?'

12 Lo, these [are] the wicked and easy ones of the age, They have increased strength.

13 Only -- a vain thing! I have purified my heart, And I wash in innocency my hands,

14 And I am plagued all the day, And my reproof [is] every morning.

15 If I have said, `I recount thus,' Lo, a generation of Thy sons I have deceived.

16 And I think to know this, Perverseness it [is] in mine eyes,

17 Till I come in to the sanctuaries of God, I attend to their latter end.

18 Only, in slippery places Thou dost set them, Thou hast caused them to fall to desolations.

19 How have they become a desolation as in a moment, They have been ended -- consumed from terrors.

20 As a dream from awakening, O Lord, In awaking, their image Thou despisest.

21 For my heart doth show itself violent, And my reins prick themselves,

22 And I am brutish, and do not know. A beast I have been with Thee.

23 And I [am] continually with Thee, Thou hast laid hold on my right hand.

24 With Thy counsel Thou dost lead me, And after honour dost receive me.

25 Whom have I in the heavens? And with Thee none I have desired in earth.

26 Consumed hath been my flesh and my heart, The rock of my heart and my portion [is] God to the age.

27 For, lo, those far from Thee do perish, Thou hast cut off every one, Who is going a whoring from Thee.

28 And I -- nearness of God to me [is] good, I have placed in the Lord Jehovah my refuge, To recount all Thy works!