Book III
(Psalms 73–89)
Psalm 73
Plea for Relief from Oppressors
A Psalm of Asaph.
1 Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.(A)
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped.(B)
3 For I was envious of the arrogant;
I saw the prosperity of the wicked.(C)
4 For they have no pain;
their bodies are sound and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not plagued like other people.(D)
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them like a garment.(E)
7 Their eyes swell out with fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.(F)
8 They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.(G)
9 They set their mouths against heaven,
and their tongues range over the earth.
10 Therefore the people turn and praise them[a]
and find no fault in them.[b]
11 And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”(H)
12 Such are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.(I)
13 All in vain I have kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.(J)
14 For all day long I have been plagued
and am punished every morning.(K)
15 If I had said, “I will talk on in this way,”
I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.
16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,(L)
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I perceived their end.(M)
18 Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.(N)
19 How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!(O)
20 They are[c] like a dream when one awakes;
on awaking you despise their phantoms.(P)
21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was stupid and ignorant;
I was like a brute beast toward you.(Q)
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me with honor.[d](R)
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.(S)
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength[e] of my heart and my portion forever.(T)
27 Indeed, those who are far from you will perish;
you put an end to those who are false to you.(U)
28 But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
to tell of all your works.(V)
Footnotes
- 73.10Cn: Heb his people return here
- 73.10Cn: Heb abundant waters are drained by them
- 73.20Cn: Heb Lord
- 73.24Or to glory
- 73.26Heb rock
Cross references
- 73.1 : Ps 51.10; 86.5
- 73.2 : Ps 94.18
- 73.3 : Ps 37.1; Jer 12.1
- 73.5 : Job 21.9
- 73.6 : Ps 109.18
- 73.7 : Job 15.27; Ps 17.10
- 73.8 : Ps 53.1; Jude 16
- 73.11 : Job 22.13
- 73.12 : Ps 49.6; Jer 49.31
- 73.13 : Job 21.15; Ps 26.6
- 73.14 : Ps 38.6; 118.18
- 73.16 : Eccl 8.17
- 73.17 : Ps 77.13
- 73.18 : Ps 35.6, 8
- 73.19 : Num 26.21; Job 18.11
- 73.20 : 1 Sam 2.30; Job 20.8
- 73.22 : Job 18.3; Ps 49.10
- 73.24 : Ps 32.8; 48.14
- 73.25 : Phil 3.8
- 73.26 : Ps 16.5; 84.2
- 73.27 : Ps 37.20
- 73.28 : Ps 40.5; 71.7; Heb 10.22