Psalms 73
1 A PSALM OF ASAPH. Surely God [is] good to Israel, to the clean of heart. And I—as a little thing, My feet have been turned aside,
A Psalm of Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
2 As nothing, my steps have slipped, For I have been envious of the boastful,
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.
3 I see the peace of the wicked, That there are no bands at their death,
For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 And their might [is] firm.
They have no struggle in their death; their bodies are well-fed.
5 They are not in the misery of mortals, And they are not plagued with common men.
They are free of the burdens others carry; they are not afflicted like other men.
6 Therefore pride has encircled them, Violence covers them as a dress.
Therefore pride is their necklace; a garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye has come out from fat. The imaginations of the heart transgressed;
From their prosperity proceeds iniquity; the imaginations of their hearts run wild.
8 They do corruptly, And they speak in the wickedness of oppression, They speak from on high.
They mock and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.
9 They have set their mouth in the heavens, And their tongue walks in the earth.
They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongues strut across the earth.
10 Therefore His people return here, And waters of fullness are wrung out to them.
So their people return to this place and drink up waters in abundance.
11 And they have said, “How has God known? And is there knowledge in the Most High?”
The wicked say, “How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?”
12 Behold, these [are] the wicked and easy ones of the age, They have increased strength.
Behold, these are the wicked— always carefree as they increase their wealth.
13 Only—a vain thing! I have purified my heart, And I wash my hands in innocence,
Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure; in innocence I have washed my hands.
14 And I am plagued all the day, And my reproof—every morning.
For I am afflicted all day long and punished every morning.
15 If I have said, “I recount thus,” Behold, I have deceived a generation of Your sons.
If I had said, “I will speak this way,” then I would have betrayed Your children.
16 And I think to know this, It [is] perverseness in my eyes,
When I tried to understand all this, it was troublesome in my sight
17 Until I come into the sanctuaries of God, I attend to their latter end.
until I entered God’s sanctuary; then I discerned their end.
18 Surely You set them in slippery places, You have caused them to fall to desolations.
Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin.
19 How they have become a desolation as in a moment, They have been ended—consumed from terrors.
How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors!
20 As a dream from awakening, O Lord, In awaking, You despise their image.
Like one waking from a dream, so You, O Lord, awaken and despise their form.
21 For my heart shows itself violent, And my reins prick themselves,
When my heart was grieved and I was pierced within,
22 And I am brutish, and do not know. I have been a beast with You.
I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You.
23 And I [am] continually with You, You have laid hold on my right hand.
Yet I am always with You; You hold my right hand.
24 You lead me with Your counsel, And after, receive me [to] glory.
You guide me with Your counsel, and later receive me in glory.
25 Whom do I have in the heavens? And none have I desired in earth [besides] You.
Whom have I in heaven but You? And on earth I desire no one besides You.
26 My flesh and my heart have been consumed, God [is] the rock of my heart and my portion for all time.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 For behold, those far from You perish, You have cut off everyone, Who is going whoring from You.
Those far from You will surely perish; You destroy all who are unfaithful to You.
28 And [the] nearness of God to me [is] good, I have placed my refuge in Lord YHWH, To recount all Your works!
But as for me, it is good to draw near to God. I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may proclaim all Your works.
