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 with a pure heart.
2 As nothing, my steps have slipped, For I have been envious of the boastful,
But as for me, my feet almost slipped; my feet almost slipped out from under me
3 I see the peace of the wicked, That there are no bands at their death,
because I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 And their might [is] firm.
For they have no pain until their death, but they are strong and well fed.
5 They are not in the misery of mortals, And they are not plagued with common men.
They are free from the burdens of other men; they are not afflicted like other men.
6 Therefore pride has encircled them, Violence covers them as a dress.
Pride adorns them like a necklace around their neck; violence clothes them like a robe.
7 Their eye has come out from fat. The imaginations of the heart transgressed;
Out of such blindness comes sin; evil thoughts pass through their hearts.
8 They do corruptly, And they speak in the wickedness of oppression, They speak from on high.
They mock and speak wickedly; in their arrogance they threaten oppression.
9 They have set their mouth in the heavens, And their tongue walks in the earth.
They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongues march through the earth.
10 Therefore His people return here, And waters of fullness are wrung out to them.
Therefore his people turn to them and abundant waters are drained out.
11 And they have said, “How has God known? And is there knowledge in the Most High?”
They say, “How does God know? Is there knowledge with the Most High?”
12 Behold, these [are] the wicked and easy ones of the age, They have increased strength.
Take notice: these people are wicked; they are always carefree, becoming richer and richer.
13 Only—a vain thing! I have purified my heart, And I wash my hands in innocence,
Surely it is in vain that I have guarded my heart and washed my hands in innocence.
14 And I am plagued all the day, And my reproof—every morning.
For all the day long I have been afflicted and disciplined 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 say these things,” then I would have betrayed this generation of your children.
16 And I think to know this, It [is] perverseness in my eyes,
Though I tried to understand these things, it was too difficult for me.
17 Until I come into the sanctuaries of God, I attend to their latter end.
Then I went into God's sanctuary and came to understand their fate.
18 Surely You set them in slippery places, You have caused them to fall to desolations.
Surely you put them in slippery places; you bring them down to ruin.
19 How they have become a desolation as in a moment, They have been ended—consumed from terrors.
How they become a wilderness in a moment! They come to an end and are finished in awful terrors.
20 As a dream from awakening, O Lord, In awaking, You despise their image.
They are like a dream after one wakes up; Lord, when you arise, you will think nothing of those dreams.
21 For my heart shows itself violent, And my reins prick themselves,
For my heart was grieved, and I was deeply wounded.
22 And I am brutish, and do not know. I have been a beast with You.
I was ignorant and lacked insight; I was like a senseless animal 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 will guide me with your advice and afterward receive me to 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? There is no one on earth that I desire but 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 grow weak, but God is the strength of my heart forever.
27 For behold, those far from You perish, You have cut off everyone, Who is going whoring from You.
Those who are far from you will perish; you will destroy all those 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, all I need to do is to approach God. I have made the Lord Yahweh my refuge. I will declare all your deeds.
