Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Book Three
Psalm 73
A Psalm of Asaph.
1 Truly God is [only] good to Israel, even to those who are upright and pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well-nigh slipped.
3 For I was envious of the foolish and arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For they suffer no violent pangs in their death, but their strength is firm.
5 They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they smitten and plagued like other men.
6 Therefore pride is about their necks like a chain; violence covers them like a garment [like a long, luxurious robe].
7 Their eyes stand out with fatness, they have more than heart could wish; and the imaginations of their minds overflow [with follies].
8 They scoff, and wickedly utter oppression; they speak loftily [from on high, maliciously and blasphemously].
9 They set their mouths against and speak down from heaven, and their tongues swagger through the earth [invading even heaven with blasphemy and smearing earth with slanders].(A)
10 Therefore His people return here, and waters of a full cup [offered by the wicked] are [blindly] drained by them.
11 And they say, How does God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?
12 Behold, these are the ungodly, who always prosper and are at ease in the world; they increase in riches.
13 Surely then in vain have I cleansed my heart and washed my hands in innocency.
14 For all the day long have I been smitten and plagued, and chastened every morning.
15 Had I spoken thus [and given expression to my feelings], I would have been untrue and have dealt treacherously against the generation of Your children.
16 But when I considered how to understand this, it was too great an effort for me and too painful
17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood [for I considered] their end.
18 [After all] You do set the [wicked] in slippery places; You cast them down to ruin and destruction.
19 How they become a desolation in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors!
20 As a dream [which seems real] until one awakens, so, O Lord, when You arouse Yourself [to take note of the wicked], You will despise their outward show.
11 A false balance and unrighteous dealings are extremely offensive and shamefully sinful to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight.(A)
2 When swelling and pride come, then emptiness and shame come also, but with the humble (those who are lowly, who have been pruned or chiseled by trial, and renounce self) are skillful and godly Wisdom and soundness.
3 The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the willful contrariness and crookedness of the treacherous shall destroy them.
4 Riches provide no security in any day of wrath and judgment, but righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God) delivers from death.(B)
5 The righteousness of the blameless shall rectify and make plain their way and keep it straight, but the wicked shall fall by their own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright [their rectitude in every area and relation] shall deliver them, but the treacherous shall be taken in their own iniquity and greedy desire.
7 When the wicked man dies, his hope [for the future] perishes; and the expectation of the godless comes to nothing.
8 The [uncompromisingly] righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked gets into it instead.
9 With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor, but through knowledge and superior discernment shall the righteous be delivered.
10 When it goes well with the [uncompromisingly] righteous, the city rejoices, but when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.
11 By the blessing of the influence of the upright and God’s favor [because of them] the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
12 He who belittles and despises his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding keeps silent.
13 He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy and faithful in spirit keeps the matter hidden.
14 Where no wise guidance is, the people fall, but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
15 He who becomes security for an outsider shall smart for it, but he who hates suretyship is secure [from its penalties].
16 A gracious and good woman wins honor [for her husband], and violent men win riches but [a]a woman who hates righteousness is a throne of dishonor for him.
17 The merciful, kind, and generous man benefits himself [for his deeds return to bless him], but he who is cruel and callous [to the wants of others] brings on himself retribution.
18 The wicked man earns deceitful wages, but he who sows righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) shall have a sure reward [permanent and satisfying].(C)
19 He who is steadfast in righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God) attains to life, but he who pursues evil does it to his own death.
20 They who are willfully contrary in heart are extremely disgusting and shamefully vile in the eyes of the Lord, but such as are blameless and wholehearted in their ways are His delight!
21 Assuredly [I pledge it] the wicked shall not go unpunished, but the multitude of the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall be delivered.
22 As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman who is without discretion.
23 The desire of the [consistently] righteous brings only good, but the expectation of the wicked brings wrath.
24 There are those who [generously] scatter abroad, and yet increase more; there are those who withhold more than is fitting or what is justly due, but it results only in want.
25 The liberal person shall be enriched, and he who waters shall himself be watered.(D)
26 The people curse him who holds back grain [when the public needs it], but a blessing [from God and man] is upon the head of him who sells it.
27 He who diligently seeks good seeks [God’s] favor, but he who searches after evil, it shall come upon him.
28 He who leans on, trusts in, and is confident in his riches shall fall, but the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like a green bough.
29 He who troubles his own house shall inherit the wind, and the foolish shall be servant to the wise of heart.
30 The fruit of the [uncompromisingly] righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise captures human lives [for God, as a fisher of men—he gathers and receives them for eternity].(E)
31 Behold, the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall be recompensed on earth; how much more the wicked and the sinner! And [b]if the righteous are barely saved, what will become of the ungodly and wicked?(F)
3 Just think of Him Who endured from sinners such grievous opposition and bitter hostility against Himself [reckon up and consider it all in comparison with your trials], so that you may not grow weary or exhausted, losing heart and relaxing and fainting in your minds.
4 You have not yet struggled and fought agonizingly against sin, nor have you yet resisted and withstood to the point of pouring out your [own] blood.
5 And have you [completely] forgotten the divine word of appeal and encouragement in which you are reasoned with and addressed as sons? My son, do not think lightly or scorn to submit to the correction and discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage and give up and faint when you are reproved or corrected by Him;
6 For the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes.
7 You must submit to and endure [correction] for discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not [thus] train and correct and discipline?
8 Now if you are exempt from correction and left without discipline in which all [of God’s children] share, then you are illegitimate offspring and not true sons [at all].(A)
9 Moreover, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we yielded [to them] and respected [them for training us]. Shall we not much more cheerfully submit to the Father of spirits and so [truly] live?
10 For [our earthly fathers] disciplined us for only a short period of time and chastised us as seemed proper and good to them; but He disciplines us for our certain good, that we may become sharers in His own holiness.
11 For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness—in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God].
12 So then, brace up and reinvigorate and set right your slackened and weakened and drooping hands and strengthen your feeble and palsied and tottering knees,(B)
13 And cut through and make firm and plain and smooth, straight paths for your feet [yes, make them safe and upright and happy paths that go in the right direction], so that the lame and halting [limbs] may not be put out of joint, but rather may be cured.
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