Psalm 73
BOOK 3
A Psalm by Asaph.
Surely God+ is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet were almost gone.
My steps had nearly slipped.
For I was envious of the arrogant,
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
For there are no struggles in their death,
but their strength is firm.
They are free from burdens of men,
neither are they plagued like other men.
Therefore pride is like a chain around their neck.
Violence covers them like a garment.
Their eyes bulge with fat.
Their minds pass the limits of conceit.
They scoff and speak with malice.
In arrogance, they threaten oppression.
They have set their mouth in the heavens.
Their tongue walks through the earth.
10 Therefore their people return to them,
and they drink up waters of abundance.
11 They say, “How does God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked.
Being always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain,
and washed my hands in innocence,
14 For all day long I have been plagued,
and punished every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus”;
behold, I would have betrayed the generation of your children.
16 When I tried to understand this,
it was too painful for me;
17 Until I entered God’s sanctuary,
and considered their latter end.
18 Surely you set them in slippery places.
You throw them down to destruction.
19 How they are suddenly destroyed!
They are completely swept away with terrors.
20 As a dream when one wakes up,
so, Lord,+ when you awake, you will despise their fantasies.
21 For my soul was grieved.
I was embittered in my heart.
22 I was so senseless and ignorant.
I was a brute beast before you.
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you.
You have held my right hand.
24 You will guide me with your counsel,
and afterward receive me to glory.
25 Whom do I have in heaven?
There is no one on earth whom I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart fails,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 For, behold, those who are far from you shall perish.
You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to you.
28 But it is good for me to come close to God.
I have made the Lord Yahweh+ my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.
 
+1:2“Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “LORD” (all caps) in other translations.+2:2The word “Anointed” is the same as the word for “Messiah” or “Christ”+2:4The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.”+2:12or, Kiss the son+3:2The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).+6:5Sheol is the place of the dead.+7:14“Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.+8:5Hebrew: Elohim. The word Elohim, used here, usually means “God”, but can also mean “gods”, “princes”, or “angels”. The Septuagint reads “angels” here.+9:17Sheol is the place of the dead.+16:10Sheol is the place of the dead.+18:5Sheol is the place of the dead.+18:50or, seed+22:16So Dead Sea Scrolls. Masoretic Text reads, “Like a lion, they pin my hands and feet.”+25:13or, seed+30:3Sheol is the place of the dead.+31:17Sheol is the place of the dead.+34:1Psalm 34 is an acrostic poem, with each verse starting with a letter of the alphabet (ordered from Alef to Tav).+37:26or, seed+42:1The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).+42:8“Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “LORD” (all caps) in other translations.+44:23The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.”+45:17Alamoth is a musical term.+49:14Sheol is the place of the dead.+49:14Sheol is the place of the dead.+49:15Sheol is the place of the dead.+55:15Sheol is the place of the dead.+73:1The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).+73:20The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.”+73:28“Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “LORD” (all caps) in other translations.