Psalm 73

New International Version

BOOK III

Psalms 73–89

Psalm 73

A psalm of Asaph.

¹Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.^(A)

²But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;^(B)
I had nearly lost my foothold.^(C)
³For I envied^(D) the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.^(E)

⁴They have no struggles;
    their bodies are healthy and strong.^[a]
⁵They are free^(F) from common human burdens;
    they are not plagued by human ills.
⁶Therefore pride^(G) is their necklace;^(H)
    they clothe themselves with violence.^(I)
⁷From their callous hearts^(J) comes iniquity^[b];
    their evil imaginations have no limits.
⁸They scoff, and speak with malice;^(K)
    with arrogance^(L) they threaten oppression.^(M)
⁹Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
    and their tongues take possession of the earth.
¹⁰Therefore their people turn to them
    and drink up waters in abundance.^[c]
¹¹They say, “How would God know?
    Does the Most High know anything?”

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

¹³Surely in vain^(P) I have kept my heart pure
and have washed my hands in innocence.^(Q)
¹⁴All day long I have been afflicted,^(R)
and every morning brings new punishments.

¹⁵If I had spoken out like that,
    I would have betrayed your children.
¹⁶When I tried to understand^(S) all this,
    it troubled me deeply
¹⁷till I entered the sanctuary^(T) of God;
    then I understood their final destiny.^(U)

¹⁸Surely you place them on slippery ground;^(V)
    you cast them down to ruin.^(W)
¹⁹How suddenly^(X) are they destroyed,
    completely swept away^(Y) by terrors!
²⁰They are like a dream^(Z) when one awakes;^(AA)
    when you arise, Lord,
    you will despise them as fantasies.^(AB)

²¹When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
²²I was senseless^(AC) and ignorant;
I was a brute beast^(AD) before you.

²³Yet I am always with you;
    you hold me by my right hand.^(AE)
²⁴You guide^(AF) me with your counsel,^(AG)
    and afterward you will take me into glory.
²⁵Whom have I in heaven but you?^(AH)
    And earth has nothing I desire besides you.^(AI)
²⁶My flesh and my heart^(AJ) may fail,^(AK)
    but God is the strength^(AL) of my heart
    and my portion^(AM) forever.

²⁷Those who are far from you will perish;^(AN)
    you destroy all who are unfaithful^(AO) to you.
²⁸But 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)

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.

Acts 14

New International Version

In Iconium

14 At Iconium^(A) Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue.^(B) There they spoke so effectively that a great number^(C) of Jews and Greeks believed. ²But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.^(D) ³So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly^(E) for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.^(F) ⁴The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles.^(G) ⁵There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews,^(H) together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them.^(I) ⁶But they found out about it and fled^(J) to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, ⁷where they continued to preach^(K) the gospel.^(L)

In Lystra and Derbe

⁸In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth^(M) and had never walked. ⁹He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed^(N) ¹⁰and called out, “Stand up on your feet!”^(O) At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.^(P)

¹¹When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”^(Q) ¹²Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker.^(R) ¹³The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

¹⁴But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes^(S) and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: ¹⁵“Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human,^(T) like you. We are bringing you good news,^(U) telling you to turn from these worthless things^(V) to the living God,^(W) who made the heavens and the earth^(X) and the sea and everything in them.^(Y) ¹⁶In the past, he let^(Z) all nations go their own way.^(AA) ¹⁷Yet he has not left himself without testimony:^(AB) He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons;^(AC) he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”^(AD) ¹⁸Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

¹⁹Then some Jews^(AE) came from Antioch and Iconium^(AF) and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul^(AG) and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. ²⁰But after the disciples^(AH) had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

The Return to Antioch in Syria

²¹They preached the gospel^(AI) in that city and won a large number^(AJ) of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium^(AK) and Antioch, ²²strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.^(AL) “We must go through many hardships^(AM) to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. ²³Paul and Barnabas appointed elders^[a]^(AN) for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting,^(AO) committed them to the Lord,^(AP) in whom they had put their trust. ²⁴After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia,^(AQ) ²⁵and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

²⁶From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch,^(AR) where they had been committed to the grace of God^(AS) for the work they had now completed.^(AT) ²⁷On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them^(AU) and how he had opened a door^(AV) of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.^(AW)