Psalm 73
Expanded Bible
Book 3: Psalms 73–89
Should the Wicked Be Rich?
A psalm of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
73 ·God is truly [Surely God is] good to ·Israel [or those with integrity/virtue],
to those who have pure hearts.
2 But ·I had almost stopped believing [L as for me, my feet almost stumbled];
·I had almost lost my faith [my steps almost slipped]
3 because I was ·jealous [envious] of ·proud people [braggers; boasters].
I saw wicked people ·doing well [prospering].
4 They are not ·suffering [struggling; in pain];
·they [their bodies] are ·healthy [perfect] and strong.
5 They don’t have ·troubles [toils] like the rest of us;
they ·don’t have problems [are not plagued] like other people [Gen. 3:17–19].
6 They wear pride like a necklace
and ·put on violence as their clothing [L adorn themselves with garments of violence].
7 ·They are looking for profits [L Their eyes bulge with fat]
and ·do not control their selfish desires [cunning overflows from their hearts/minds].
8 They ·make fun of others [scoff] and speak ·evil [harm];
·proudly [from high] they speak of ·hurting [oppressing; exploiting] others.
9 They ·brag to the sky [L set their mouth against heaven].
·They say that they own [L Their tongue wanders] the earth.
10 So their people turn to them
and ·give them whatever they want [L they drink up water in abundance].
11 They say, “How can God know?
What does God Most High know?”
12 These people are wicked,
always ·at ease [carefree], and getting richer.
13 ·So why have I kept my heart pure [L In vain, I kept my heart pure…]?
·Why have I kept my hands from doing wrong [L …and washed my hands in innocence; Matt. 27:24]?
14 I ·have suffered [am plagued] all day long;
I have been ·punished [corrected] every morning.
15 God, if I had ·decided to talk like this [L said, “I will recount this,”],
I would have ·let your people down [L betrayed the generation/race of your children].
16 I ·tried [thought how] to understand all this,
but it was too ·hard [wearisome] ·for me to see [L in my eyes]
17 until I went to the ·Temple [sanctuary; Holy Place] of God.
Then I understood ·what will happen to them [L their fate/end].
18 You have put them in ·danger [L slippery places];
you cause them to ·be destroyed [L fall into disaster].
19 They are destroyed in a moment;
they are swept away by terrors.
20 It will be like waking from a dream.
Lord, when you ·rise up [awake; arouse yourself], ·they will disappear [L you despise their shadows].
21 When my heart was ·sad [bitter]
and ·I was angry [L my innards felt stabbed],
22 I was senseless and stupid.
I acted like an ·animal [brute beast] toward you.
23 But I am always with you [C in covenant relationship];
you have held my ·hand [L right hand; C guiding him].
24 You guide me with your advice,
and later you will receive me in ·honor [glory; C perhaps in the afterlife].
25 ·I have no one [L Whom do I have…?] in heaven but you;
I ·want [desire] nothing on earth besides you.
26 My body and my ·mind [heart] may become weak,
but God is ·my strength [L the rock of my heart].
He is ·mine [L my portion] forever.
27 Those who are far from ·God [L you] will ·die [perish];
you ·destroy [bring to an end] those who ·are unfaithful [prostitute themselves spiritually].
28 But I am close to God, and that is good.
The Lord God ·is [I have made] my ·protection [refuge].
I will ·tell [recount] all that you have done.
Psalm 73
Young's Literal Translation
73 A Psalm of Asaph. Only -- good to Israel [is] God, to the clean of heart. And I -- as a little thing, My feet have been turned aside,
2 As nothing, have my steps slipped, For I have been envious of the boastful,
3 The peace of the wicked I see, That there are no bands at their death,
4 And their might [is] firm.
5 In the misery of mortals they are not, And with common men they are not plagued.
6 Therefore hath pride encircled them, Violence covereth them as a dress.
7 Their eye hath come out from fat. The imaginations of the heart transgressed;
8 They do corruptly, And they speak in the wickedness of oppression, From on high they speak.
9 They have set in the heavens their mouth, And their tongue walketh in the earth.
10 Therefore do His people return hither, And waters of fulness are wrung out to them.
11 And they have said, `How hath God known? And is there knowledge in the Most High?'
12 Lo, these [are] the wicked and easy ones of the age, They have increased strength.
13 Only -- a vain thing! I have purified my heart, And I wash in innocency my hands,
14 And I am plagued all the day, And my reproof [is] every morning.
15 If I have said, `I recount thus,' Lo, a generation of Thy sons I have deceived.
16 And I think to know this, Perverseness it [is] in mine eyes,
17 Till I come in to the sanctuaries of God, I attend to their latter end.
18 Only, in slippery places Thou dost set them, Thou hast caused them to fall to desolations.
19 How have they become a desolation as in a moment, They have been ended -- consumed from terrors.
20 As a dream from awakening, O Lord, In awaking, their image Thou despisest.
21 For my heart doth show itself violent, And my reins prick themselves,
22 And I am brutish, and do not know. A beast I have been with Thee.
23 And I [am] continually with Thee, Thou hast laid hold on my right hand.
24 With Thy counsel Thou dost lead me, And after honour dost receive me.
25 Whom have I in the heavens? And with Thee none I have desired in earth.
26 Consumed hath been my flesh and my heart, The rock of my heart and my portion [is] God to the age.
27 For, lo, those far from Thee do perish, Thou hast cut off every one, Who is going a whoring from Thee.
28 And I -- nearness of God to me [is] good, I have placed in the Lord Jehovah my refuge, To recount all Thy works!
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