Psalm 73-79

New International Version

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?”

¹² This is what the wicked are like—
    always free of care,^(N) they go on amassing wealth.^(O)

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.

²⁷ Those who are far from you will perish;^(AN)
    you destroy all who are unfaithful^(AO) to you.
²⁸ But as for me, it is good to be near God.^(AP)
    I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;^(AQ)
    I will tell of all your deeds.^(AR)

⁴ Your foes roared^(BC) in the place where you met with us;
    they set up their standards^(BD) as signs.
⁵ They behaved like men wielding axes
    to cut through a thicket of trees.^(BE)
6 They smashed all the carved^(BF) paneling
    with their axes and hatchets.
⁷ They burned your sanctuary to the ground;
    they defiled^(BG) the dwelling place^(BH) of your Name.^(BI)
8 They said in their hearts, “We will crush^(BJ) them completely!”
    They burned^(BK) every place where God was worshiped in the land.

⁹ We are given no signs from God;^(BL)
    no prophets^(BM) are left,
    and none of us knows how long this will be.
¹⁰ How long^(BN) will the enemy mock^(BO) you, God?
    Will the foe revile^(BP) your name forever?
¹¹ Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?^(BQ)
    Take it from the folds of your garment^(BR) and destroy them!

¹² But God is my King^(BS) from long ago;
    he brings salvation^(BT) on the earth.

¹³ It was you who split open the sea^(BU) by your power;
    you broke the heads of the monster^(BV) in the waters.
¹⁴ It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan^(BW)
    and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.^(BX)
15 It was you who opened up springs^(BY) and streams;
    you dried up^(BZ) the ever-flowing rivers.
¹⁶ The day is yours, and yours also the night;
    you established the sun and moon.^(CA)
17 It was you who set all the boundaries^(CB) of the earth;
    you made both summer and winter.^(CC)

¹⁸ Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord,
    how foolish people^(CD) have reviled your name.
¹⁹ Do not hand over the life of your dove^(CE) to wild beasts;
    do not forget the lives of your afflicted^(CF) people forever.
²⁰ Have regard for your covenant,^(CG)
    because haunts of violence fill the dark places^(CH) of the land.
²¹ Do not let the oppressed^(CI) retreat in disgrace;
    may the poor and needy^(CJ) praise your name.
²² Rise up,^(CK) O God, and defend your cause;
    remember how fools^(CL) mock you all day long.
²³ Do not ignore the clamor^(CM) of your adversaries,^(CN)
    the uproar^(CO) of your enemies,^(CP) which rises continually.

² You say, “I choose the appointed time;^(CS)
    it is I who judge with equity.^(CT)
3 When the earth and all its people quake,^(CU)
    it is I who hold its pillars^(CV) firm.^[f]
4 To the arrogant^(CW) I say, ‘Boast no more,’^(CX)
    and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns.^[g](CY)
5 Do not lift your horns against heaven;
    do not speak so defiantly.^(CZ)’”

⁶ No one from the east or the west
    or from the desert can exalt themselves.
⁷ It is God who judges:^(DA)
    He brings one down, he exalts another.^(DB)
8 In the hand of the Lord is a cup
    full of foaming wine mixed^(DC) with spices;
he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth
    drink it down to its very dregs.^(DD)

⁹ As for me, I will declare^(DE) this forever;
    I will sing^(DF) praise to the God of Jacob,^(DG)
10 who says, “I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,
    but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”^(DH)

⁴ You are radiant with light,^(DN)
    more majestic than mountains rich with game.
⁵ The valiant^(DO) lie plundered,
    they sleep their last sleep;^(DP)
not one of the warriors
    can lift his hands.
⁶ At your rebuke,^(DQ) God of Jacob,
    both horse and chariot^(DR) lie still.

⁷ It is you alone who are to be feared.^(DS)
    Who can stand^(DT) before you when you are angry?^(DU)
8 From heaven you pronounced judgment,
    and the land feared^(DV) and was quiet—
⁹ when you, God, rose up to judge,^(DW)
    to save all the afflicted^(DX) of the land.
¹⁰ Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise,^(DY)
    and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.^[j]

¹¹ Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them;^(DZ)
    let all the neighboring lands
    bring gifts^(EA) to the One to be feared.
¹² He breaks the spirit of rulers;
    he is feared by the kings of the earth.

³ I remembered^(EG) you, God, and I groaned;^(EH)
    I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.^[l](EI)
4 You kept my eyes from closing;
    I was too troubled to speak.^(EJ)
5 I thought about the former days,^(EK)
    the years of long ago;
⁶ I remembered my songs in the night.
    My heart meditated and my spirit asked:

⁷ “Will the Lord reject forever?^(EL)
    Will he never show his favor^(EM) again?
⁸ Has his unfailing love^(EN) vanished forever?
    Has his promise^(EO) failed for all time?
⁹ Has God forgotten to be merciful?^(EP)
    Has he in anger withheld his compassion?^(EQ)”

¹⁰ Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
    the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.^(ER)
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will remember your miracles^(ES) of long ago.
¹² I will consider^(ET) all your works
    and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”^(EU)

¹³ Your ways, God, are holy.
    What god is as great as our God?^(EV)
14 You are the God who performs miracles;^(EW)
    you display your power among the peoples.
¹⁵ With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,^(EX)
    the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

¹⁶ The waters^(EY) saw you, God,
    the waters saw you and writhed;^(EZ)
    the very depths were convulsed.
¹⁷ The clouds poured down water,^(FA)
    the heavens resounded with thunder;^(FB)
    your arrows^(FC) flashed back and forth.
¹⁸ Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,^(FD)
    your lightning^(FE) lit up the world;
    the earth trembled and quaked.^(FF)
19 Your path^(FG) led through the sea,^(FH)
    your way through the mighty waters,
    though your footprints were not seen.

²⁰ You led your people^(FI) like a flock^(FJ)
    by the hand of Moses and Aaron.^(FK)

⁹ The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,^(GA)
    turned back on the day of battle;^(GB)
10 they did not keep God’s covenant^(GC)
    and refused to live by his law.^(GD)
11 They forgot what he had done,^(GE)
    the wonders he had shown them.
¹² He did miracles^(GF) in the sight of their ancestors
    in the land of Egypt,^(GG) in the region of Zoan.^(GH)
13 He divided the sea^(GI) and led them through;
    he made the water stand up like a wall.^(GJ)
14 He guided them with the cloud by day
    and with light from the fire all night.^(GK)
15 He split the rocks^(GL) in the wilderness
    and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
¹⁶ he brought streams out of a rocky crag
    and made water flow down like rivers.

¹⁷ But they continued to sin^(GM) against him,
    rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.
¹⁸ They willfully put God to the test^(GN)
    by demanding the food they craved.^(GO)
19 They spoke against God;^(GP)
    they said, “Can God really
    spread a table in the wilderness?
²⁰ True, he struck the rock,
    and water gushed out,^(GQ)
    streams flowed abundantly,
but can he also give us bread?
    Can he supply meat^(GR) for his people?”
²¹ When the Lord heard them, he was furious;
    his fire broke out^(GS) against Jacob,
    and his wrath rose against Israel,
²² for they did not believe in God
    or trust^(GT) in his deliverance.
²³ Yet he gave a command to the skies above
    and opened the doors of the heavens;^(GU)
24 he rained down manna^(GV) for the people to eat,
    he gave them the grain of heaven.
²⁵ Human beings ate the bread of angels;
    he sent them all the food they could eat.
²⁶ He let loose the east wind^(GW) from the heavens
    and by his power made the south wind blow.
²⁷ He rained meat down on them like dust,
    birds^(GX) like sand on the seashore.
²⁸ He made them come down inside their camp,
    all around their tents.
²⁹ They ate till they were gorged—^(GY)
    he had given them what they craved.
³⁰ But before they turned from what they craved,
    even while the food was still in their mouths,^(GZ)
31 God’s anger rose against them;
    he put to death the sturdiest^(HA) among them,
    cutting down the young men of Israel.

³² In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;^(HB)
    in spite of his wonders,^(HC) they did not believe.^(HD)
33 So he ended their days in futility^(HE)
    and their years in terror.
³⁴ Whenever God slew them, they would seek^(HF) him;
    they eagerly turned to him again.
³⁵ They remembered that God was their Rock,^(HG)
    that God Most High was their Redeemer.^(HH)
36 But then they would flatter him with their mouths,^(HI)
    lying to him with their tongues;
³⁷ their hearts were not loyal^(HJ) to him,
    they were not faithful to his covenant.
³⁸ Yet he was merciful;^(HK)
    he forgave^(HL) their iniquities^(HM)
    and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger^(HN)
    and did not stir up his full wrath.
³⁹ He remembered that they were but flesh,^(HO)
    a passing breeze^(HP) that does not return.

⁴⁰ How often they rebelled^(HQ) against him in the wilderness^(HR)
    and grieved him^(HS) in the wasteland!
⁴¹ Again and again they put God to the test;^(HT)
    they vexed the Holy One of Israel.^(HU)
42 They did not remember^(HV) his power—
    the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,^(HW)
43 the day he displayed his signs^(HX) in Egypt,
    his wonders^(HY) in the region of Zoan.
⁴⁴ He turned their river into blood;^(HZ)
    they could not drink from their streams.
⁴⁵ He sent swarms of flies^(IA) that devoured them,
    and frogs^(IB) that devastated them.
⁴⁶ He gave their crops to the grasshopper,^(IC)
    their produce to the locust.^(ID)
47 He destroyed their vines with hail^(IE)
    and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
⁴⁸ He gave over their cattle to the hail,
    their livestock^(IF) to bolts of lightning.
⁴⁹ He unleashed against them his hot anger,^(IG)
    his wrath, indignation and hostility—
    a band of destroying angels.^(IH)
50 He prepared a path for his anger;
    he did not spare them from death
    but gave them over to the plague.
⁵¹ He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt,^(II)
    the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.^(IJ)
52 But he brought his people out like a flock;^(IK)
    he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
⁵³ He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;
    but the sea engulfed^(IL) their enemies.^(IM)
54 And so he brought them to the border of his holy land,
    to the hill country his right hand^(IN) had taken.
⁵⁵ He drove out nations^(IO) before them
    and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance;^(IP)
    he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.

⁵⁶ But they put God to the test
    and rebelled against the Most High;
    they did not keep his statutes.
⁵⁷ Like their ancestors^(IQ) they were disloyal and faithless,
    as unreliable as a faulty bow.^(IR)
58 They angered him^(IS) with their high places;^(IT)
    they aroused his jealousy with their idols.^(IU)
59 When God heard^(IV) them, he was furious;^(IW)
    he rejected Israel^(IX) completely.
⁶⁰ He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,^(IY)
    the tent he had set up among humans.^(IZ)
61 He sent the ark of his might^(JA) into captivity,^(JB)
    his splendor into the hands of the enemy.
⁶² He gave his people over to the sword;^(JC)
    he was furious with his inheritance.^(JD)
63 Fire consumed^(JE) their young men,
    and their young women had no wedding songs;^(JF)
64 their priests were put to the sword,^(JG)
    and their widows could not weep.

⁶⁵ Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,^(JH)
    as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.
⁶⁶ He beat back his enemies;
    he put them to everlasting shame.^(JI)
67 Then he rejected the tents of Joseph,
    he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;^(JJ)
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,^(JK)
    Mount Zion,^(JL) which he loved.
⁶⁹ He built his sanctuary^(JM) like the heights,
    like the earth that he established forever.
⁷⁰ He chose David^(JN) his servant
    and took him from the sheep pens;
⁷¹ from tending the sheep^(JO) he brought him
    to be the shepherd^(JP) of his people Jacob,
    of Israel his inheritance.
⁷² And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;^(JQ)
    with skillful hands he led them.

⁵ How long,^(KA) Lord? Will you be angry^(KB) forever?
    How long will your jealousy burn like fire?^(KC)
6 Pour out your wrath^(KD) on the nations
    that do not acknowledge^(KE) you,
on the kingdoms
    that do not call on your name;^(KF)
7 for they have devoured^(KG) Jacob
    and devastated his homeland.

⁸ Do not hold against us the sins of past generations;^(KH)
    may your mercy come quickly to meet us,
    for we are in desperate need.^(KI)
9 Help us,^(KJ) God our Savior,
    for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
    for your name’s sake.^(KK)
10 Why should the nations say,
    “Where is their God?”^(KL)

Before our eyes, make known among the nations
    that you avenge^(KM) the outpoured blood^(KN) of your servants.
¹¹ May the groans of the prisoners come before you;
    with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.
¹² Pay back into the laps^(KO) of our neighbors seven times^(KP)
    the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord.
¹³ Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,^(KQ)
    will praise you forever;^(KR)
from generation to generation
    we will proclaim your praise.