Psalm 73 Common English Bible

BOOK III

(Psalms 73–89)

Psalm 73

A psalm of Asaph.

73 Truly God is good to Israel,
    to those who are have a pure heart.
²But me? My feet had almost stumbled;
    my steps had nearly slipped
³    because I envied the arrogant;
    I observed how the wicked are well off:
⁴They suffer no pain;
    their bodies are fit and strong.
⁵They are never in trouble;
    they aren’t weighed down like other people.
⁶That’s why they wear arrogance like a necklace,
    why violence covers them like clothes.
⁷Their eyes bulge out from eating so well;
    their hearts overflow with delusions.
⁸They scoff and talk so cruel;
    from their privileged positions
    they plan oppression.
⁹Their mouths dare to speak against heaven!
    Their tongues roam the earth!
¹⁰That’s why people keep going back to them,
    keep approving what they say.^[a]
¹¹And what they say is this: “How could God possibly know!
    Does the Most High know anything at all!”
¹²Look at these wicked ones,
    always relaxed, piling up the wealth!

¹³Meanwhile, I’ve kept my heart pure for no good reason;
I’ve washed my hands to stay innocent for nothing.
¹⁴I’m weighed down all day long.
    I’m punished every morning.
¹⁵If I said, “I will talk about all this,”
    I would have been unfaithful to your children.
¹⁶But when I tried to understand these things,
    it just seemed like hard work
¹⁷    until I entered God’s sanctuary
        and understood what would happen to the wicked.
¹⁸You will definitely put them on a slippery path;
    you will make them fall into ruin!
¹⁹How quickly they are devastated,
    utterly destroyed by terrors!
²⁰As quickly as a dream departs from someone waking up, my Lord,
    when you are stirred up, you make them disappear.^[b]

²¹When my heart was bitter,
    when I was all cut up inside,
²²I was stupid and ignorant.
    I acted like nothing but an animal toward you.
²³But I was still always with you!
    You held my strong hand!
²⁴You have guided me with your advice;
    later you will receive me with glory.
²⁵Do I have anyone else in heaven?
    There’s nothing on earth I desire except you.
²⁶My body and my heart fail,
    but God is my heart’s rock and my share forever.
²⁷Look! Those far from you die;
    you annihilate all those who are unfaithful to you.
²⁸But me? It’s good for me to be near God.
    I have taken my refuge in you, my Lord God,
        so I can talk all about your works!