Psalm 73

God Is My Strength and Portion Forever

A Psalm of Asaph.

1  Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2  But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
3  For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4  For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
5  They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
6  Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them as a garment.
7  Their eyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8  They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9  They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
10  Therefore his people turn back to them,
and find no fault in them.t
11  And they say, "How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?"
12  Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
13  All in vain have I kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
14  For all the day long I have been stricken
and rebuked every morning.
15  If I had said, "I will speak thus,"
I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

16  But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17  until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.

18  Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19  How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
20  Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
21  When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22  I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.

23  Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24  You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25  Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26  My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strengtht of my heart and my portion forever.

27  For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28  But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.

Psalms 73

Book 3

(Psalms 73—89)

God is good

1 God is truly good to Israel,t
especially to everyone
with a pure heart.

2 But I almost stumbled and fell,

3 because it made me jealous
to see proud and evil people
and to watch them prosper.

4 They never have to suffer,t
they stay healthy,

5 and they don't have troubles
like everyone else.

6 Their pride is like a necklace,
and they commit sin more often
than they dress themselves.

7 Their eyes bulge with fat,
and their minds are flooded
with foolish thoughts.

8 They sneer and say cruel things,
and because of their pride,
they make violent threats.

9 They dare to speak against God
and to order others around.

10 God will bring his people back,
and they will drink the water
he so freely gives.t

11 Only evil people would say,
“God Most High cannot
know everything!”

12 Yet all goes well for them,
and they live in peace.

13 What good did it do me
to keep my thoughts pure
and refuse to do wrong?

14 I am sick all day,
and I am punished
each morning.

15 If I had said evil things,
I would not have been loyal
to your people.

16 It was hard for me
to understand all this!

17 Then I went to your temple,
and there I understood
what will happen
to my enemies.

18 You will make them stumble,
never to get up again.

19 They will be terrified,
suddenly swept away
and no longer there.

20 They will disappear, Lord,
despised like a bad dream
the morning after.

21 Once I was bitter
and brokenhearted.

22 I was stupid and ignorant,
and I treated you
as a wild animal would.

23 But I never really left you,
and you hold my right hand.

24 Your advice has been my guide,
and later you will welcome me
in glory.t

25 In heaven I have only you,
and on this earth
you are all I want.

26 My body and mind may fail,
but you are my strength
and my choice for ever.

27 Powerful Lord God,
all who stay far from you
will be lost,
and you will destroy those
who are unfaithful.

28 It is good for me
to be near you.
I choose you as my protector,
and I will tell about
your wonderful deeds.