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Psalm 73
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 73
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Third Book—Psalms 73–89
Psalm 73[a]
The Trial of the Just
1 A psalm of Asaph.
How good God is to the upright,
to those who are pure of heart!
I
2 But, as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped,
3 Because I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.(A)
4 For they suffer no pain;
their bodies are healthy and sleek.
5 They are free of the burdens of life;
they are not afflicted like others.
6 Thus pride adorns them as a necklace;
violence clothes them as a robe.
7 Out of such blindness comes sin;
evil thoughts flood their hearts.(B)
8 They scoff and spout their malice;
from on high they utter threats.(C)
9 [b]They set their mouths against the heavens,
their tongues roam the earth.
10 [c]So my people turn to them
and drink deeply of their words.
11 They say, “Does God really know?”
“Does the Most High have any knowledge?”(D)
12 Such, then, are the wicked,
always carefree, increasing their wealth.
II
13 Is it in vain that I have kept my heart pure,
washed my hands in innocence?(E)
14 For I am afflicted day after day,
chastised every morning.
15 Had I thought, “I will speak as they do,”
I would have betrayed this generation of your children.
16 Though I tried to understand all this,
it was too difficult for me,
17 Till I entered the sanctuary of God
and came to understand their end.[d]
III
18 You set them, indeed, on a slippery road;
you hurl them down to ruin.
19 How suddenly they are devastated;
utterly undone by disaster!
20 They are like a dream after waking, Lord,
dismissed like shadows when you arise.(F)
IV
21 Since my heart was embittered
and my soul deeply wounded,
22 I was stupid and could not understand;
I was like a brute beast in your presence.
23 Yet I am always with you;
you take hold of my right hand.(G)
24 With your counsel you guide me,
and at the end receive me with honor.[e]
25 Whom else have I in the heavens?
None beside you delights me on earth.
26 Though my flesh and my heart fail,
God is the rock of my heart, my portion forever.
27 But those who are far from you perish;
you destroy those unfaithful to you.
28 As for me, to be near God is my good,
to make the Lord God my refuge.
I shall declare all your works
in the gates of daughter Zion.[f]
Footnotes
- Psalm 73 The opening verse of this probing poem (cf. Ps 37; 49) is actually the psalmist’s hard-won conclusion from personal experience: God is just and good! The psalmist describes near loss of faith (Ps 73:2–3), occasioned by observing the wicked who blasphemed God with seeming impunity (Ps 73:4–12). Feeling abandoned despite personal righteousness, the psalmist could not bear the injustice until an experience of God’s nearness in the Temple made clear how deluded the wicked were. Their sudden destruction shows their impermanence (Ps 73:13–20). The just can thus be confident, for, as the psalmist now knows, their security is from God (Ps 73:1, 23–28).
- 73:9 They set their mouths against the heavens: in an image probably derived from mythic stories of half-divine giants, the monstrous speech of the wicked is likened to enormous jaws gaping wide, devouring everything in sight.
- 73:10 The Hebrew is obscure.
- 73:17 And came to understand their end: the psalmist receives a double revelation in the Temple: 1) the end of the wicked comes unexpectedly (Ps 73:18–20); 2) God is with me.
- 73:24 And at the end receive me with honor: a perhaps deliberately enigmatic verse. It is understood by some commentators as reception into heavenly glory, hence the traditional translation, “receive me into glory.” The Hebrew verb can indeed refer to mysterious divine elevation of a righteous person into God’s domain: Enoch in Gn 5:24; Elijah in 2 Kgs 2:11–12; the righteous psalmist in Ps 49:16. Personal resurrection in the Old Testament, however, is clearly attested only in the second century B.C. The verse is perhaps best left unspecified as a reference to God’s nearness and protection.
- 73:28 In the gates of daughter Zion: this reading follows the tradition of the Septuagint and Vulgate.
Psalm 73
New King James Version
Psalm 73
New King James Version
BOOK THREE
Psalms 73–89
The Tragedy of the Wicked, and the Blessedness of Trust in God
A Psalm of (A)Asaph.
73 Truly God is good to Israel,
To such as are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
My steps had nearly (B)slipped.
3 (C)For I was envious of the boastful,
When I saw the prosperity of the (D)wicked.
4 For there are no [a]pangs in their death,
But their strength is firm.
5 (E)They are not in trouble as other men,
Nor are they plagued like other men.
6 Therefore pride serves as their necklace;
Violence covers them (F)like a garment.
7 (G)Their [b]eyes bulge with abundance;
They have more than heart could wish.
8 (H)They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression;
They (I)speak [c]loftily.
9 They set their mouth (J)against the heavens,
And their tongue walks through the earth.
10 Therefore his people return here,
(K)And waters of a full cup are drained by them.
11 And they say, (L)“How does God know?
And is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the ungodly,
Who are always at ease;
They increase in riches.
13 Surely I have [d]cleansed my heart in (M)vain,
And washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all day long I have been plagued,
And chastened every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children.
16 When I thought how to understand this,
It was [e]too painful for me—
17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God;
Then I understood their (N)end.
18 Surely (O)You set them in slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction.
19 Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment!
They are utterly consumed with terrors.
20 As a dream when one awakes,
So, Lord, when You awake,
You shall despise their image.
21 Thus my heart was grieved,
And I was [f]vexed in my mind.
22 (P)I was so foolish and ignorant;
I was like a beast before You.
23 Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You hold me by my right hand.
24 (Q)You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.
25 (R)Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
26 (S)My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the [g]strength of my heart and my (T)portion forever.
27 For indeed, (U)those who are far from You shall perish;
You have destroyed all those who [h]desert You for harlotry.
28 But it is good for me to (V)draw near to God;
I have put my trust in the Lord God,
That I may (W)declare all Your works.
Footnotes
- Psalm 73:4 pains
- Psalm 73:7 Tg. face bulges; LXX, Syr., Vg. iniquity bulges
- Psalm 73:8 Proudly
- Psalm 73:13 kept my heart pure in vain
- Psalm 73:16 troublesome in my eyes
- Psalm 73:21 Lit. pierced in my kidneys
- Psalm 73:26 Lit. rock
- Psalm 73:27 Are unfaithful to You
Psalm 73
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 73
New Catholic Bible
Book III—Psalms 73–89[a]
Psalm 73[b]
False Happiness of the Wicked
1 A psalm of Asaph.[c]
God is truly good to the upright,[d]
to those who are pure in heart.
2 [e]But as for me, I nearly lost my balance;[f]
I was almost at the point of stumbling.
3 For I was filled with envy of the arrogant
when I perceived how the wicked prosper.
4 [g]They endure no painful suffering;
their bodies are healthy and well fed.
5 They are not plagued with burdens common to all;
the troubles of life do not afflict them.
6 So they wear arrogance like a necklace
and don violence like a robe.
7 Their callous hearts overflow with malice,
and their minds are completely taken up with evil plans.
8 They mock and pour forth their malevolence;
in their haughtiness they threaten oppression.
9 Their mouths rage against the heavens
while their tongues are never stilled on the earth.
10 [h]So the people blindly follow them
and find nothing offensive in their words.[i]
11 They say: “How does God know?
Does the Most High notice anything?”
12 Such are the wicked,
as they pile up wealth, without any concerns.
13 [j]Is it in vain that I have kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence?
14 For I am stricken day after day
and punished every morning.
15 If I had decided, “I will speak like them,”
I would not have been true to your children.[k]
16 [l]When I tried to understand all this,
I found it too difficult for me,
17 until I entered the sanctuary of God[m]
and realized what their final end would be.
18 [n]Indeed, you set them on a slippery slope
and cast them headlong into utter ruin.
19 How suddenly they are destroyed,
completely wiped out by terrors!
20 When you arise, O Lord,
you will dismiss them
as one discards a dream on awakening.
21 [o]When my heart was embittered
and my soul was deeply tormented,
22 I was stupid and unable to comprehend—
like a brute beast in your presence.
23 [p]Yet I am always with you;
you grasp me by the right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me into glory.[q]
25 Whom do I have in heaven except you?
And besides you there is nothing else I desire on earth.
26 Even should my heart and my flesh[r] fail,
God is the rock of my heart
and my portion forever.
27 [s]But all those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy those who are unfaithful to you.
28 As for me, my happiness is to be near God,
and I have made the Lord God my refuge;
I will proclaim all your works[t]
at the gates of the Daughter of Zion.
Footnotes
- Psalm 73:1 This third Book of the Psalter combines the collections of psalms of Asaph (probably a choral leader in the Jerusalem temple; see 1 Chr 25:2-6; 2 Chr 29:30) with the end of the Psalter of the Sons of Korah, which began in the second Book (Pss 42–49). The prayers are varied in accord with the experience of believers; we pass from the lament of the innocent to the exultation after victory. We read, by turns, canticles of Zion, chants of joy and hope, and historical retrospectives that often take the tone of great national lamentations. Each prayer expresses in a new way the longing for God and his salvation.
- Psalm 73:1 The psalmist is taken back by the prosperity of the wicked and the sufferings of the righteous (see Job; Eccl 7:15; Jer 12:1; Mal 3:15). Those who make sport of God seem to succeed in life much more than believers, and their example becomes a scandal for the righteous and the wise: what is the good of remaining faithful? Still he knows that no one should deny God. Tempted by doubt, the faithful psalmist reflects and seeks light in God’s presence; in such a meditation, his faith deepens and a conviction imposes itself on him with new force: human glory has no tomorrow, but the friendship of God remains forever precious; it cannot end or deceive. The psalmist-sage who expresses himself here begins to suspect that the joy of being with the Lord could become eternal happiness (v. 24).
In times of trouble, at moments when people grow weary of being faithful, this psalm brings the grace of refreshment to the interior life. - Psalm 73:1 Asaph: see notes on Pss 73–89.
- Psalm 73:1 The upright: literally, “Israel,” i.e., the group of the “poor” (see v. 15; Pss 72:2ff; 149:4; 1 Mac 1:53; Isa 49:3, 13). Pure in heart: see note on Ps 24:4. Heart: see note on Ps 4:8.
- Psalm 73:2 Like many of the godly, the psalmist envied the prosperity of the wicked and their arrogance. Everything seemed to go well for them. They experienced “prosperity,” i.e., well-being, full family life, and success in business. Hence, the psalmist was miserable, filled with self-pity and discontent with God’s justice. But, although he almost lost his foothold on the “way” of the Lord, he righted himself with the help of the Lord, who sustains his saints (see Ps 37:23ff).
- Psalm 73:2 I nearly lost my balance: see note on Ps 37:30-31.
- Psalm 73:4 The psalmist describes the reasons that led the godly to envy the wicked. Evildoers seem to be carefree and unconcerned for the future. They have wealth and power and enjoy freedom of movement and speech. They appear untouched by life’s frustrations: frailty, adversities, diseases, and hard labor. They disregard God and his laws with apparent impunity. They decree what can be done on earth and even what God can do in heaven. In short, it seems that God lets the wicked get away with their wickedness. Hearts: see note on Ps 4:8.
- Psalm 73:10 From the mistaken viewpoint of an afflicted person, the wicked enjoy power, glory, and prosperity without end.
- Psalm 73:10 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is unclear. Another translation is: “So the people turn to them / and find no fault in them.”
- Psalm 73:13 The psalmist begins to have doubts about his effort to keep himself holy (see Pss 24:4; 119:9). He questions himself about the troubles and sufferings that he experiences while the wicked seem to have no such problems.
- Psalm 73:15 If he had expressed in public what he had been thinking, the psalmist would have denied the ancestral traditions and beliefs (see note on Ps 139:19-24) and betrayed the “poor.” For the Lord is a father to Israel (Ex 4:22; Isa 63:16; Hos 11:1).
- Psalm 73:16 Understanding did not come to the psalmist until he entered into the sanctuary of God. There he regained his perspective in the light of God’s greatness, glory, and majesty. He realized once again that the Lord is just and will judge the wicked in accord with their evil deeds.
- Psalm 73:17 Sanctuary of God: literally, “the divine sanctuaries.” Rather than the temple (see Jer 51:51) where he would have been enlightened by God, or the divine mysteries (see Wis 2:22) in which he would have received revelation, this expression indicates the teaching contained in the Scriptures, the abode of wisdom (see Ps 119:130; Prov 9:1ff; Sir 39:1).
- Psalm 73:18 In reality, God makes the state of the wicked so precarious that they will not be stable but will vanish like the figures of a dream. The assurance of Scripture is that the wicked will incur sudden and complete judgment. They will be assailed by all kinds of terrors and death itself.
- Psalm 73:21 The psalmist stresses his former embittered state once again. In his grief he was irrational (see Ps 94:8) and not ruled by wisdom; he was like the fools who are compared to brute beasts (see Ps 49:13, 21; Isa 1:2f). He was assailed by doubt and mired in self-pity—but God used this experience to make him a better person and bring him closer to himself. Heart: see note on Ps 4:8.
- Psalm 73:23 The psalmist’s experience of anguish is transformed into the joy of God’s presence and his greatness. God protects him by holding his right hand (v. 23; see Ps 63:8; Isa 41:10, 13; 42:6; Jer 31:32), by strengthening his resolve (rock, v. 26; see Ps 18:3), and by taking care of all his needs (portion, v. 26; see Ps 16:5). God gives his servant wisdom and insight (counsel) as he journeys toward everlasting glory (v. 24; see Ps 32:8).
- Psalm 73:24 Receive me into glory: is it a question here of heavenly glory? The text does not make this clear. It states that God will preserve the righteous from a brutal and premature death and rehabilitate them (see Job 19:9; 29:18; 42:7), while he despises the wicked who will suddenly disappear (v. 18f). Nothing obliges us to give the verb “receive” a stronger meaning than in Pss 18:17 (“snatched me up”) and 49:16 (“take”—see also note there) based on the assumption into heaven of Enoch (Gen 5:24; Sir 44:16) and Elijah (2 Ki 2:3; Sir 48:9). However, as in Ps 16:9f, the psalmist’s fervor and the demands of his love for God lead him to long never to be separated from him; it constitutes a stage in the explicit belief in the resurrection, attested in Dan 12:2.
- Psalm 73:26 My heart and my flesh: the whole being (see Ps 84:3). Heart: see note on Ps 4:8. Portion: as a Levite, the psalmist has the Lord for his portion (or inheritance) of the Promised Land, i.e., he lives off the tithes that the people present to the Lord (see Num 18:21-24; Deut 10:9; 18:1-8).
- Psalm 73:27 The psalmist now understands that all who are unfaithful to God must perish. Their judgment is a consequence not only of their failure to profess faith in God but also of their immoral and unjust practices.
- Psalm 73:28 I will proclaim all your works: the psalmist expresses the vow to praise the Lord’s mercies (see note on Ps 7:18). At the gates of the Daughter of Zion: this phrase is added to the final line of the Septuagint. It is taken from Ps 9:15, which may be a liturgical adaptation.
Psalm 73
New International Version
Psalm 73
New International Version
BOOK III
Psalms 73–89
Psalm 73
A psalm of Asaph.
1 Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.(A)
2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;(B)
I had nearly lost my foothold.(C)
3 For I envied(D) the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.(E)
4 They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong.[a]
5 They are free(F) from common human burdens;
they are not plagued by human ills.
6 Therefore pride(G) is their necklace;(H)
they clothe themselves with violence.(I)
7 From their callous hearts(J) comes iniquity[b];
their evil imaginations have no limits.
8 They scoff, and speak with malice;(K)
with arrogance(L) they threaten oppression.(M)
9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.
10 Therefore their people turn to them
and drink up waters in abundance.[c]
11 They say, “How would God know?
Does the Most High know anything?”
13 Surely in vain(P) I have kept my heart pure
and have washed my hands in innocence.(Q)
14 All day long I have been afflicted,(R)
and every morning brings new punishments.
15 If I had spoken out like that,
I would have betrayed your children.
16 When I tried to understand(S) all this,
it troubled me deeply
17 till I entered the sanctuary(T) of God;
then I understood their final destiny.(U)
18 Surely you place them on slippery ground;(V)
you cast them down to ruin.(W)
19 How suddenly(X) are they destroyed,
completely swept away(Y) by terrors!
20 They are like a dream(Z) when one awakes;(AA)
when you arise, Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.(AB)
21 When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
22 I was senseless(AC) and ignorant;
I was a brute beast(AD) before you.
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.(AE)
24 You guide(AF) me with your counsel,(AG)
and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?(AH)
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.(AI)
26 My flesh and my heart(AJ) may fail,(AK)
but God is the strength(AL) of my heart
and my portion(AM) forever.
Footnotes
- Psalm 73:4 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text struggles at their death; / their bodies are healthy
- Psalm 73:7 Syriac (see also Septuagint); Hebrew Their eyes bulge with fat
- Psalm 73:10 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.
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