Psalm 73
New American Standard Bible
BOOK 3
The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.
A Psalm of Asaph.
73 God certainly is (A)good to Israel,
To those who are (B)pure in heart!
2 But as for me, (C)my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps [a]had almost slipped.
3 For I was (D)envious of the [b]arrogant
As I saw the (E)prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their belly is fat.
5 They are (F)not [c]in trouble like other people,
Nor are they (G)tormented together with the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore arrogance is (H)their necklace;
The (I)garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye [d]bulges from (J)fatness;
The imaginations of their heart overflow.
8 They (K)mock and [e]wickedly speak of oppression;
They (L)speak from on high.
9 They have (M)set their mouth [f]against the heavens,
And their tongue [g]parades through the earth.
10 Therefore [h]his people return here,
And (N)abundant waters are drunk by them.
11 They say, “(O)How does God know?
And is there knowledge [i]with the Most High?”
12 Behold, (P)these are the wicked;
And always (Q)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13 Surely (R)in vain I have [j]kept my heart pure
And (S)washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken (T)all day long,
And [k](U)punished every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak this way,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the (V)generation of Your children.
16 When I (W)thought of understanding this,
It was [l]troublesome in my sight
17 Until I entered the [m](X)sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their (Y)end.
18 You indeed put them on (Z)slippery ground;
You dropped them into [n](AA)ruin.
19 How they are [o](AB)destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by (AC)sudden terrors!
20 Like a (AD)dream when one awakes,
Lord, when (AE)stirred, You will (AF)despise their image.
21 When my (AG)heart was embittered
And I was (AH)pierced [p]within,
22 Then I was (AI)stupid and ignorant;
I was like an (AJ)animal [q]before You.
23 Nevertheless (AK)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 You will (AL)guide me with Your plan,
And afterward (AM)receive me [r]to glory.
25 (AN)Whom do I have in heaven but You?
And with You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My (AO)flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the [s]strength of my heart and my (AP)portion forever.
27 For, behold, (AQ)those who are far from You will (AR)perish;
You have destroyed all those who [t](AS)are unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, (AT)the nearness of God is good for me;
I have made the Lord [u]God my (AU)refuge,
So that I may (AV)tell of all Your works.
Footnotes
- Psalm 73:2 Lit were caused to slip
- Psalm 73:3 Or boasters
- Psalm 73:5 Lit in the trouble of people
- Psalm 73:7 Lit goes forth
- Psalm 73:8 Or they speak in wickedness; From on high they speak of oppression
- Psalm 73:9 Or in
- Psalm 73:9 Lit walks
- Psalm 73:10 Or His
- Psalm 73:11 Lit in
- Psalm 73:13 Or cleansed my heart
- Psalm 73:14 Lit my punishment
- Psalm 73:16 Lit labor, trouble
- Psalm 73:17 Lit sanctuaries
- Psalm 73:18 Or deception
- Psalm 73:19 Lit become a desolation
- Psalm 73:21 Lit in my kidneys
- Psalm 73:22 Lit with You
- Psalm 73:24 Or with honor
- Psalm 73:26 Lit rock
- Psalm 73:27 Lit go to a whoring from
- Psalm 73:28 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Psalm 73
1599 Geneva Bible
73 1 The Prophet teacheth by his example that neither the worldly prosperity of the ungodly, 14 nor yet the affliction of the good ought to discourage God’s children: but rather ought to move us to consider our Father’s providence, and to cause us to reverence God’s judgments, 19 forasmuch as the wicked vanish away, 24 and the godly enter into life everlasting, 28 in hope whereof he resigneth himself into God’s hands.
A Psalm committed to Asaph.
1 Yet [a]God is good to Israel: even to the pure in heart.
2 As for me, my feet were almost gone: my steps had well near slipped.
3 For I fretted at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are [b]no bands in their death, but they are lusty and strong.
5 They are not in trouble as other men, neither are they plagued with other men.
6 [c]Therefore pride is as a chain unto them, and cruelty covereth them as a garment.
7 Their eyes stand out for fatness: [d]they have more than heart can wish.
8 They are licentious, and speak wickedly of their oppression: they talk presumptuously.
9 They [e]set their mouth against heaven, and their tongue walketh through the earth.
10 Therefore his [f]people turn hither: for waters of a full cup are wrung out to them.
11 And they [g]say, How doth God know it? or is there knowledge in the most High?
12 Lo these are the wicked, yet prosper they always, and increase in riches.
13 Certainly I have cleansed mine heart in vain, and washed mine hands in innocency.
14 For daily have I been punished, and chastened every morning.
15 If I say, [h]I will judge thus, behold the generation of thy children, I have trespassed.
16 Then thought I to know this, but it was too painful for me,
17 Until I went into the [i]Sanctuary of God: then understood I their end.
18 Surely thou hast set them in slippery places, and castest them down into desolation.
19 How suddenly are they destroyed, perished and [j]horribly consumed,
20 As a dream when one awaketh! O Lord, when [k]thou raisest us up, thou shalt make their image despised.
21 Certainly mine heart was vexed, and I was pricked in my reins.
22 So foolish was I and ignorant: I was a [l]beast before thee.
23 Yet I was always [m]with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.
24 Thou wilt guide me by thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in [n]heaven but thee? and I have desired none in the earth with thee.
26 My flesh faileth and mine heart also: but God is the strength of mine heart, and my [o]portion forever.
27 For lo, that they withdraw themselves from thee, shall perish: thou destroyest all them that [p]go a whoring from thee.
28 As for me, it is good for me [q]to draw near to God: therefore I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.
Footnotes
- Psalm 73:1 As it were between hope and despair he bursteth forth into this affection, being assured that God would continue his favor toward such as were godly indeed, and not hypocrites.
- Psalm 73:4 The wicked in this life live at pleasure and are not drawn to death like prisoners: that is, by sickness which is death’s messenger.
- Psalm 73:6 They glory in their pride as some do in their chains, and in cruelty, as some do in apparel.
- Psalm 73:7 Hebrew, they pass the desires of the heart.
- Psalm 73:9 They blaspheme God, and fear not his power and rail upon men, because they esteem themselves above all others.
- Psalm 73:10 Not only the reprobate, but also the people of God oftentimes fall back, seeing the prosperous estate of the wicked, and are overwhelmed with sorrows, thinking that God considereth not aright the estate of the godly.
- Psalm 73:11 Thus the flesh moveth even the godly to dispute with God touching their poor estate, and the prosperity of the wicked.
- Psalm 73:15 If I give place to this wicked thought, I offend against thy providence, seeing thou disposeth all things most wisely and preservest thy children in their greatest dangers.
- Psalm 73:17 Until I entered into thy school and learned by thy word and holy Spirit, that thou orderest all things most wisely and justly.
- Psalm 73:19 By thy fearful judgment.
- Psalm 73:20 When thou openest our eyes to consider thy heavenly felicity, we contemn all their vain pomp.
- Psalm 73:22 For the more that man goeth about by his own reason to seek out God’s judgments, the more doth he declare himself a beast.
- Psalm 73:23 By faith I was assured that thy providence did watch always over me, to preserve me.
- Psalm 73:25 He sought neither help nor comfort of any save of God only.
- Psalm 73:26 He teacheth us to deny ourselves, to have God our whole sufficiency, and only contentment.
- Psalm 73:27 That is, forsake thee to seek others.
- Psalm 73:28 Though all the world shrink from God, yet he promiseth to trust in him and to magnify his works.
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Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
