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Psalm 73
Names of God Bible
Psalm 73
Names of God Bible
BOOK THREE
(Psalms 73–89)
Psalm 73
A psalm by Asaph.
1 Elohim is truly good to Israel,
to those whose lives are pure.
2 But my feet had almost stumbled.
They had almost slipped
3 because I was envious of arrogant people
when I saw the prosperity that wicked people enjoy.
4 They suffer no pain.
Their bodies are healthy.
5 They have no drudgery in their lives like ordinary people.
They are not plagued with problems like others.
6 That is why they wear arrogance like a necklace
and acts of violence like clothing.
7 Their eyes peer out from their fat faces,[a]
and their imaginations run wild.
8 They ridicule.
They speak maliciously.
They speak arrogantly about oppression.
9 They verbally attack heaven,
and they order people around on earth.
10 That is why Elohim’s people turn to wickedness[b]
and swallow their words.
11 Then wicked people ask, “What does Elohim know?”
“Does Elyon know anything?”
12 Look how wicked they are!
They never have a worry.
They grow more and more wealthy.
13 I’ve received no reward for keeping my life pure
and washing my hands of any blame.
14 I’m plagued with problems all day long,
and every morning my punishment begins again.
15 If I had said, “I will continue to talk like that,”
I would have betrayed Elohim’s people.
16 But when I tried to understand this,
it was too difficult for me.
17 Only when I came into Elohim’s holy place
did I finally understand what would happen to them.
18 You put them in slippery places
and make them fall into ruin.
19 They are suddenly destroyed.
They are completely swept away by terror!
20 As someone gets rid of a dream when he wakes up,
so you, O Adonay, get rid of the thought of them
when you wake up.
21 When my heart was filled with bitterness
and my mind was seized with envy,
22 I was stupid, and I did not understand.
I was like a dumb animal in your presence.
23 Yet, I am always with you.
You hold on to my right hand.
24 With your advice you guide me,
and in the end you will take me to glory.
25 As long as I have you,
I don’t need anyone else in heaven or on earth.
26 My body and mind may waste away,
but Elohim remains the foundation of my life
and my inheritance forever.
27 Without a doubt, those who are far from you will die.
You destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
28 Being united with Elohim is my highest good.
I have made Adonay Yahweh my Machseh
so that I may report everything that he has done.
Footnotes
- Psalm 73:7 Hebrew meaning uncertain.
- Psalm 73:10 Hebrew meaning uncertain.
Psalm 73
Wycliffe Bible
Psalm 73
Wycliffe Bible
73 The psalm of Asaph. God of Israel is full good; to them that be of rightful heart. (The song of Asaph. The God of Israel is very good; to those who have an upright heart.)
2 But my feet were moved almost; my steps were shed out almost. (But my feet almost stumbled; my steps almost slipped.)
3 For I loved fervently on wicked men; seeing the peace of sinners. (For I envied the wicked; when I saw the prosperity of the sinners.)
4 For beholding is not to the death of them; and steadfastness in the sickness of them. (For it seemed that they never die; yea, they always be strong, and never get sick.)
5 They be not in travail of (other) men; and they shall not be beaten with men. (They do not have trouble, or tribulation, like other people do; and they be not beaten down like others be.)
6 Therefore pride hath held them; they were covered with their wickedness and unfaithfulness.
7 The wickedness of them came forth as of fatness; they went into desire of heart. (Their wickedness came forth like fatness; and they went forth in the desire of their hearts.)
8 They thought and spake waywardness; they spake wickedness on high (they spoke wickedness out loud).
9 They putted their mouth into heaven; and their tongue passed in earth. (They put their mouths against heaven; and their tongues went about over all the earth.)
10 Therefore my people shall be turned again here; and full days shall be found in them. (And so my people followed them; and found nothing to condemn them for.)
11 And they said, How knoweth God; and whether knowing is on high? (And they said, How could God know? how can the Most High have any knowledge of this?)
12 Lo! those sinners and having abundance in the world; (they) held riches.
13 And I said, Therefore without cause I justified mine heart; and washed mine hands among innocents. (And I said, And so I have keep my heart pure, and I have kept my hands clean, all for nothing/all in vain.)
14 And I was beaten all day; and my chastising was in morrowtides. (Yea, all day long I am beaten down; and I am punished every morning.)
15 If I said, I shall tell thus; lo! I [have] reproved the nation of thy sons. (If I had said, I shall talk as they do; lo! I would have brought reproach upon the nation of thy children.)
16 I guessed, that I should know this; (but too much) travail is before me. (I tried to work through all of this; but it was too much for me.)
17 Till I enter into the saintuary of God; and understand in the last things of them. (Until I entered into the sanctuary of God; and there I understood their last things, that is, their end.)
18 Nevertheless for guiles thou hast put to them; thou castedest them down, while they were raised. (For thou shalt put them in slippery places; thou shalt throw them down, after they be raised up.)
19 How be they made into desolation; they failed suddenly, they perished for their wickedness/for their waywardness. (How they shall go into desolation! they shall suddenly fail, and they shall perish for all their wickedness/for all their wayward ways.)
20 As the dream of men that (a)rise; Lord, thou shalt drive their image to nought, in thy city. (Like a dream when one awaketh, and it vanisheth; so, Lord, thou shalt drive them down into nothing/until they completely disappear.)
21 For mine heart is enflamed, and my reins be changed; (When my heart was enflamed, and my feelings were hurt;)
22 and I am driven to nought, and I knew not. As a work beast I am made with thee; (and I was driven down into nothing, and I knew nothing; yea, I was made like a work beast before thee;)
23 and I am ever with thee. Thou heldest my right hand, (but still I am ever with thee. Thou holdest my right hand,)
24 and in thy will thou leddest me forth; and with glory thou tookest me up. (and by thy counsel, or thy instruction, thou leadest me forth; and afterward thou shalt receive me with honour.)
25 For why what is to me in heaven; and what would I of thee on earth? (For what is there for me in heaven, but thee? and what else do I desire here on earth, but thee?)
26 My flesh and mine heart failed; God of mine heart, and my part is God [into] without end. (Though my flesh and my heart fail; but God is my strength, and my portion forever.)
27 For lo! they that draw away far themselves from thee shall perish; thou hast lost all men that do fornication from thee. (For lo! they who take themselves far away from thee, shall perish; thou shalt destroy all those who wantonly abandon thee.)
28 But it is good to me to cleave to God; and to set mine hope in the Lord God. That I tell all thy preachings, in the gates of the daughter of Zion. (But it is good for me to cleave to God; and to trust in the Lord God. And that I tell out all thy works, or all of thy deeds.)
Psalm 73
Lexham English Bible
Psalm 73
Lexham English Bible
The Wicked and the Righteous Contrasted
A song of Asaph.[a]
73 Surely God is good to Israel,
to those pure of heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled.
My steps had nearly slipped,
3 because I envied the boastful
when I saw the well-being[b] of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains up to their death,
and their bodies are healthy.[c]
5 They do not have ordinary trouble,[d]
and they are not plagued as other people.[e]
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
an outfit of violence covers them.
7 Their eye bulges from fat.[f]
Imaginings overflow their heart.
8 They mock and speak maliciously of oppression;
they speak as though from on high.
9 They set their mouth against the heavens,
and their tongue roams the earth.
10 Therefore his people turn there,[g]
and abundant waters are slurped up by them.
11 And they say, “How does God know?”
and, “Does the Most High have knowledge?”
12 See, these are the wicked,
and they increase wealth, ever carefree.
13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure,
and washed my hands in innocence.
14 And I have been plagued all day
and rebuked every morning.[h]
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
behold, I would have acted treacherously
against your children’s generation.
16 When I thought about how to understand this,
it was troubling in my eyes
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God.
Then I understood their fate.
18 Surely you set them on slippery places.
You cause them to fall onto ruin.[i]
19 How they become a desolation in a moment!
They come to a complete end by terrors.
20 Like a dream upon awakening,
when you wake up, O Lord,
you will despise their fleeting form.[j]
21 When my heart was embittered
and I felt stabbed in my kidneys,
22 then I was brutish and ignorant.
With you I was like the beasts.
23 But I am continually with you;
you have hold of my right hand.
24 You will guide me with your advice,
and afterward you will take me into honor.[k]
25 Whom do I have in the heavens except you?
And with you I have no other desire on earth.
26 My flesh and heart failed,
but God is the strength[l] of my heart and my reward forever.
27 For indeed, those distancing themselves from you will be ruined.
You destroy each who abandons you for harlotry.
28 But as for me, the approach to God is for my good.
I have set the Lord Yahweh as my refuge,
in order to tell all your works.
Footnotes
- Psalm 73:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm
- Psalm 73:3 Or “peace” or “prosperity”
- Psalm 73:4 Literally “fat”
- Psalm 73:5 Literally “the trouble of man”
- Psalm 73:5 Hebrew “humankind”
- Psalm 73:7 A slightly different Hebrew reading might be reflected in the LXX’s “their iniquity comes out of fatness”
- Psalm 73:10 That is, toward the wicked
- Psalm 73:14 Literally “to the mornings”
- Psalm 73:18 Or “fall for deceptions”
- Psalm 73:20 Or “image”
- Psalm 73:24 Or “to glory”
- Psalm 73:26 Literally “rock”
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.
Names of God Bible (NOG)
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
Wycliffe Bible (WYC)
2001 by Terence P. Noble
Lexham English Bible (LEB)
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.