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 Melody of Asaph. Nothing but good, is God, Unto Israel, Unto the 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, well-nigh slipped;
3 I see the peace of the wicked, That there are no bands at their death,
For I was envious of the boasters, At the prosperity of the lawless, used I to look.
4 And their might [is] firm.
For they have no pangs in their death, And vigorous is their body;
5 They are not in the misery of mortals, And they are not plagued with common men.
Of the toil of weak mortals, have they none, Nor, with the sons of earth, are they hard smitten.
6 Therefore pride has encircled them, Violence covers them as a dress.
For this cause, doth arrogance deck them as a neck-chain, And a garment of wrong is their attire;
7 Their eye has come out from fat. The imaginations of the heart transgressed;
Their iniquity, hath proceeded from fatness, They have surpassed the imaginations of the heart;
8 They do corruptly, And they speak in the wickedness of oppression, They speak from on high.
They mock, and wickedly command oppression, From on high, they command;
9 They have set their mouth in the heavens, And their tongue walks in the earth.
They have set, in the heavens, their mouth, And, their tongue, marcheth through the earth.
10 Therefore His people return here, And waters of fullness are wrung out to them.
Therefore must his people return thither, And, the waters of abundance, are drained by them;
11 And they have said, “How has God known? And is there knowledge in the Most High?”
And they say—How doth GOD know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?
12 Behold, these [are] the wicked and easy ones of the age, They have increased strength.
Lo! these, are the lawless, Who are secure for an age, They have attained unto wealth.
13 Only—a vain thing! I have purified my heart, And I wash my hands in innocence,
Altogether in vain, Have I cleansed my heart, And bathed in pureness, my hands;
14 And I am plagued all the day, And my reproof—every morning.
And yet been smitten all the day, And been rebuked morning by morning!
15 If I have said, “I recount thus,” Behold, I have deceived a generation of Your sons.
If I had thought, I will relate it thus, Lo! the circle of thy sons, had I betrayed.
16 And I think to know this, It [is] perverseness in my eyes,
When I reasoned, that I might understand this, A vexation, it was in mine eyes:
17 Until I come into the sanctuaries of God, I attend to their latter end.
Until I could enter the holy places of God, —Could give heed to their hereafter: —
18 Surely You set them in slippery places, You have caused them to fall to desolations.
Surely, in slippery places, dost thou set them, —Thou hast suffered them to fall into places of danger.
19 How they have become a desolation as in a moment, They have been ended—consumed from terrors.
How have they become desolate, as in a moment! They have ceased—come to an end, by reason of calamities.
20 As a dream from awakening, O Lord, In awaking, You despise their image.
As the dream of him that waketh, O my Lord! when rousing thyself up, their shadowy being, wilt thou despise.
21 For my heart shows itself violent, And my reins prick themselves,
But my heart had grown embittered, And, in my reins, had I received wounds;
22 And I am brutish, and do not know. I have been a beast with You.
But, I, was brutish, and could not perceive, Like the beasts, had I become before thee.
23 And I [am] continually with You, You have laid hold on my right hand.
Nevertheless, I, am continually before thee, Thou hast taken hold of my right hand;
24 You lead me with Your counsel, And after, receive me [to] glory.
By thy counsel, wilt thou guide me, And, afterwards, unto glory, wilt thou take me.
25 Whom do I have in the heavens? And none have I desired in earth [besides] You.
Whom have I in the heavens? And, compared with thee, there is nothing I desire on earth.
26 My flesh and my heart have been consumed, God [is] the rock of my heart and my portion for all time.
Failed have my flesh and my heart, The rock of my heart—and my portion, is God unto times age-abiding.
27 For behold, those far from You perish, You have cut off everyone, Who is going whoring from You.
For lo! they who are far from thee, shall perish, Thou hast put an end to every one who wandered unchastely from thee.
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, the drawing near of God, is my blessedness, —I have made, of My Lord Yahweh, my refuge, —That I may recount all thy works.
