Chronological
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.
Remembering God’s Help
For the director of music. For Jeduthun [C a Levitical musician; 1 Chr. 16:41–42; 25:1, 6; 2 Chr. 5:12]. 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].
77 I cry out to God;
I call to God, and he ·will hear [or heard] me.
2 I ·look [sought] for the Lord on the day of ·trouble [L my distress].
All night long I ·reach out my untiring hands [L flow forth my hand and it does not grow weak],
but I ·cannot [refuse to] be comforted.
3 When I remember God, I ·become upset [moan];
when I ·think [reflect; meditate], ·I become afraid [my soul faints]. ·
4 You ·keep my eyes from closing [L grab the eyelids of my eyes].
I am too ·upset [disturbed] to say anything.
5 I keep thinking about the old days,
the years of long ago [C when things were going well].
6 At night I remember my songs.
I ·think [meditate] and ·I ask myself [L my spirit inquires]:
7 “Will the Lord reject us forever?
Will he never be ·kind [favorable] to us again?
8 Is his ·love [loyalty] gone forever?
Has he stopped speaking for all time [C he questions God’s commitment to the covenant]?
9 Has God forgotten ·mercy [compassion]?
Is he too angry to ·pity [have mercy on] us?” ·
10 Then I say, “This is what makes me sad:
·For years the power of God Most High was with us [L The right hand of the God Most High has changed].”
11 I remember what the Lord did;
I remember the ·miracles [wonderful acts] you did long ago.
12 I ·think [mused] about all the things you did
and ·consider [meditated on] your deeds.
13 God, your ways are holy.
·No god [L What god…?] is as great as our God.
14 You are the God who does ·miracles [wonders];
you have ·shown [made known to] people your power.
15 By your ·power [L arm] you have ·saved [redeemed] your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. ·
16 God, the waters saw you;
they saw you and ·became afraid [L writhed];
the deep waters shook with fear.
17 The clouds poured down their rain.
The ·sky [clouds] ·thundered [L gave forth a sound].
Your lightning flashed back and forth like arrows.
18 Your thunder sounded in the whirlwind.
Lightning lit up the world.
The earth trembled and ·shook [quaked].
19 You made a way through the sea
and paths through the ·deep [L many] waters,
but your footprints were not ·seen [revealed].
20 You led your people like a flock
by ·using [L the hand of] Moses and Aaron [Ex. 14–15].
God Saved Israel from Egypt
A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] 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].
78 My people, ·listen [give ear] to my ·teaching [instruction; law];
·listen [L incline your ear] to ·what I say [L the words of my mouth].
2 I will ·speak [L open my mouth] ·using stories [L with a proverb/parable];
I will ·tell [expound] ·secret things [L riddles] from long ago [C the past contains lessons for the present generation].
3 We have heard them and known them
by what our ·ancestors [fathers] have ·told [recounted to] us.
4 We will not ·keep [hide] them from our children;
we will ·tell [recount them to] ·those who come later [a later generation]
about the praises of the Lord.
We will tell about his power
and the ·miracles [wonderful acts] he has done.
5 The Lord ·made an agreement [established a decree/testimony] with Jacob
and gave the ·teachings [instructions; laws] to Israel [Ex. 19–24],
which he commanded our ·ancestors [fathers]
to ·teach [make known] to their children [Deut. 6:6–9, 20–22].
6 Then ·their children [L the later generation] would know them,
even their children not yet born.
And they would ·tell [L rise up and recount them to] their children.
7 So they would ·all trust [L place their trust/confidence in] God
and would not forget what he had done
but would ·obey [protect] his commands.
8 They would not be like their ·ancestors [fathers]
who were ·stubborn and disobedient [L a stubborn and rebellious generation].
Their hearts were not ·loyal [steadfast; L set] to God,
and they were not ·true [faithful] to him [Deut. 9:6–7, 13, 24; 31:27; 32:5; Acts 2:40].
9 The men of Ephraim ·had bows for weapons [L were armed for shooting the bow],
but they ·ran away [turned back] on the day of battle [C perhaps 1 Sam. 4:1–4 or 1 Sam. 28–31].
10 They didn’t ·keep [observe; guard] their ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with God
and refused to ·live [L walk] by his ·teachings [instructions; laws].
11 They forgot what he had done
and the ·miracles [wonderful acts] he had shown them.
12 He did ·miracles [wonderful acts] while their ·ancestors [fathers] watched,
in the fields of Zoan [C a city in the Nile Delta also known as Tanis] in Egypt [C the plagues; Ex. 7–12].
13 He divided the ·Red Sea [L Sea; C probably a lake north of the Gulf of Suez] and led them through [Ex. 14–15].
He made the water stand up like a ·wall [or heap; Ex. 15:8].
14 He led them with a cloud by day
and by the light of a fire by night [105:39; Ex. 13:21; Num. 10:34].
15 He split the rocks in the ·desert [wilderness]
and gave them more ·than enough water, as if from the deep ocean [L water, as much as the deeps].
16 He brought streams out of the rock
and caused water to flow down like rivers [Ex. 17:6; Num. 20:8; 1 Cor. 10:4].
17 But the people continued to sin against him;
in the ·desert [wasteland; wilderness] they ·turned [rebelled] against God Most High.
18 They ·decided to test God [L tested God in their hearts]
by asking for the food ·they wanted [L for their appetite].
19 Then they spoke against God,
saying, “Can God prepare ·food [L a table] in the ·desert [wilderness]?
20 When he ·hit [L struck] the rock, water ·poured out [gushed]
and rivers flowed down.
But can he give us bread also?
Will he provide his people with meat [Ex. 16]?”
21 When the Lord heard them, he was very angry.
·His anger was like fire to the people of [L A fire was ignited against] Jacob;
his anger ·grew against the people of [L rose up against] Israel [Num. 11].
22 They had not ·believed [trusted; been faithful to] God
and had not ·trusted [put confidence in] him to ·save them [give them victory].
23 But he gave a command to the clouds above
and opened the doors of heaven.
24 He rained manna down on them to eat;
he gave them grain from heaven.
25 So they ate the bread of ·angels [L strong ones].
He sent them all the food they could eat.
26 He sent the east wind from heaven
and ·led [guided] the south wind by his power.
27 He rained meat on them like dust.
The birds were as many as the sand of the sea.
28 He made the birds fall inside the camp,
all around the ·tents [L residences].
29 So the people ate and became very ·full [satisfied; satiated].
God had given them what they ·wanted [desired].
30 While ·they were still eating [L their desire had not turned aside],
and while the food was still in their mouths,
31 ·God became angry with them [L the anger of God came up on them].
He killed some of the ·healthiest [most robust; sturdiest] of them;
he ·struck down [laid low] the best young men of Israel.
32 But they kept on sinning;
they did not believe even with the ·miracles [wonderful acts].
33 So he ended their days without ·meaning [purpose; Eccl. 1:2]
and their years in terror.
34 Anytime he killed them, they would ·look to him for help [seek him];
they would ·come back to God [repent] and ·follow [be intent on] him.
35 They would remember that God was their Rock [C the one who protected them],
that God Most High had ·saved [redeemed] them.
36 But ·their words were false [L they deceived/or flattered him with their mouths],
and with their tongues they lied to him.
37 Their hearts were not really ·loyal to [steadfast toward] God;
they ·did not keep [were not faithful to] his ·agreement [covenant].
38 Still God was ·merciful [compassionate].
He ·forgave their sins [made atonement for their guilt]
and did not destroy them.
Many times he held back his anger
and did not stir up all his ·anger [wrath].
39 He remembered that they were ·only human [flesh; 38:3; 56:4; 103:14–15; Gen. 6:3; Is. 2:22],
like a wind that blows and does not come back.
40 They ·turned [rebelled] against God so often in the ·desert [wilderness]
and grieved him ·there [L in the wasteland].
41 Again and again they tested God
and ·brought pain to [provoked] the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember his ·power [L hand]
or the ·time [L day] he ·saved [ransomed] them from the ·enemy [foe].
43 They forgot the signs he did in Egypt
and his wonders in the fields of Zoan [v. 12].
44 He turned their rivers to blood
so no one could drink ·the water [L from their streams; 105:29; Ex. 7:17–20; Rev. 16:4].
45 He sent flies that ·bit [L consumed] the people [Ex. 8:20–32].
He sent frogs that destroyed them [Ex. 7:25—8:15].
46 He gave their crops to grasshoppers
and ·what they worked for [L their labor] to locusts [Ex. 10:1–20].
47 He ·destroyed [L killed] their vines with hail
and their ·sycamore [or fig] trees with ·sleet [or frost; or floods; Ex. 9:13–35].
48 He ·killed their animals with [L handed over their beasts to the] hail
and their cattle with lightning [Ex. 9:1–7].
49 He ·showed [L sent against] them his hot anger.
He sent his strong anger against them,
his ·destroying angels [or messengers of evil/harm].
50 He ·found a way to show [L made a path for] his anger.
He did not ·keep them from dying [L hold back their lives from death]
but ·let them die by a terrible disease [L handed their lives over to plague].
51 God ·killed [L struck] all the firstborn sons in Egypt [Ex. 12],
the ·oldest son of each family [L first of their virility in the tents] of Ham [C the ancestor of the Egyptians; Gen. 10:6].
52 But God led his people out like sheep
and he guided them like a flock through the ·desert [wilderness].
53 He led them to safety so they had nothing to fear,
but ·their enemies drowned in the sea [L the sea covered their enemies].
54 So God brought them to his holy ·land [L boundary],
to the mountain country ·he took with his own power [L his hand acquired].
55 He ·forced out [dispossessed before them] the other nations,
and he ·had his people inherit the land [L alloted the land as an inheritance].
He let the tribes of Israel settle there in tents.
56 But they tested God
and ·turned [rebelled] against God Most High;
they did not ·keep [observe; guard] his ·rules [decrees; testimonies].
57 They ·turned away [recoiled] and were disloyal just like their ·ancestors [fathers].
They ·were like [turned into] a ·crooked bow that does not shoot straight [slack bow; C unreliable and ineffective].
58 They made God angry ·by building places to worship gods [L with their high places; C worship sites associated with pagan worship or inappropriate worship of God; Deut. 12:2–3];
they made him jealous with their idols.
59 When God heard them, he became very angry
and rejected the people of Israel completely.
60 He ·left [cast off] his dwelling at Shiloh,
the Tent where he lived among the people.
61 He let his ·Power [Strength; C the Ark] be captured;
he let his ·glory [beauty; C the Ark] be taken by ·enemies [L the hand of the foe; 1 Sam. 4–5].
62 He ·let his people be killed [L handed his people over to the sword];
he was very angry with his ·children [L inheritance].
63 The young men ·died [L were consumed] by fire,
and the young women ·had no one to marry [had no wedding songs; or could not sing a lament for them].
64 Their priests fell by the sword [1 Sam. 4:12–22],
but their widows were not allowed to cry.
65 Then the Lord ·got up [awoke] as if he had been asleep;
·he awoke like a man [L like a soldier] who had been ·drunk with [shouting/singing because of] wine.
66 He struck ·down [L back] his enemies
and ·disgraced them forever [L placed on them eternal scorn/reproach].
67 But God rejected the ·family [L tent] of Joseph [C the tribe of Ephraim];
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim [C the most important northern tribe, here representing the house of Saul].
68 Instead, he chose the tribe of Judah
and Mount Zion [C the location of the Temple], which he loves.
69 And he built his ·Temple [sanctuary; Holy Place] ·high like the mountains [or like the high heavens].
Like the earth, ·he built it to last [L its foundations are] forever.
70 He chose David to be his servant
and took him from the sheep pens.
71 He brought him from tending the ·sheep [L ewes]
so he could ·lead the flock, [shepherd] the people of Jacob,
his ·own people [inheritance], the people of Israel.
72 And David ·led [shepherded] them with an ·innocent [blameless] heart
and guided them with skillful hands.
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