Book III—Psalms 73–89
Psalm 73
False Happiness of the Wicked
1 A psalm of Asaph.
God is truly good to the upright,
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, I nearly lost my balance;
I was almost at the point of stumbling.
3 For I was filled with envy of the arrogant
when I perceived how the wicked prosper.
4 They endure no painful suffering;
their bodies are healthy and well fed.
5 They are not plagued with burdens common to all;
the troubles of life do not afflict them.
6 So they wear arrogance like a necklace
and don violence like a robe.
7 Their callous hearts overflow with malice,
and their minds are completely taken up with evil plans.
8 They mock and pour forth their malevolence;
in their haughtiness they threaten oppression.
9 Their mouths rage against the heavens
while their tongues are never stilled on the earth.
10 So the people blindly follow them
and find nothing offensive in their words.
11 They say: “How does God know?
Does the Most High notice anything?”
12 Such are the wicked,
as they pile up wealth, without any concerns.
13 Is it in vain that I have kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence?
14 For I am stricken day after day
and punished every morning.
15 If I had decided, “I will speak like them,”
I would not have been true to your children.
16 When I tried to understand all this,
I found it too difficult for me,
17 until I entered the sanctuary of God
and realized what their final end would be.
18 Indeed, you set them on a slippery slope
and cast them headlong into utter ruin.
19 How suddenly they are destroyed,
completely wiped out by terrors!
20 When you arise, O Lord,
you will dismiss them
as one discards a dream on awakening.
21 When my heart was embittered
and my soul was deeply tormented,
22 I was stupid and unable to comprehend—
like a brute beast in your presence.
23 Yet I am always with you;
you grasp me by the right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me into glory.
25 Whom do I have in heaven except you?
And besides you there is nothing else I desire on earth.
26 Even should my heart and my flesh fail,
God is the rock of my heart
and my portion forever.
27 But all those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy those who are unfaithful to you.
28 As for me, my happiness is to be near God,
and I have made the Lord God my refuge;
I will proclaim all your works
at the gates of the Daughter of Zion.
Footnotes
- Psalm 73:1
- Psalm 73:1
- Psalm 73:1
- Psalm 73:1
- Psalm 73:2
- Psalm 73:2
- Psalm 73:4
- Psalm 73:10
- Psalm 73:10
- Psalm 73:13
- Psalm 73:15
- Psalm 73:16
- Psalm 73:17
- Psalm 73:18
- Psalm 73:21
- Psalm 73:23
- Psalm 73:24
- Psalm 73:26
- Psalm 73:27
- Psalm 73:28
