BOOK III
Psalms 73–89
1A Psalm of Asaph.
Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
1A Psalm of Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, to those pure of heart.
2But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped.
2And as for me, at a little stretching out of my feet, my steps had nearly poured out.
3For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
3For I was envious of those boasting when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4They have no struggle in their death;
their bodies are well-fed.
4For there are no pangs until their death, and their body is fat.
5They are free of the burdens others carry;
they are not afflicted like other men.
5They are not in the trouble of mankind, and with men they are not are they plagued.
6Therefore pride is their necklace;
a garment of violence covers them.
6Therefore pride is their necklace; a garment of violence is a covering for them.
7From their prosperity proceeds iniquity;a
the imaginations of their hearts run wild.
7Their eye has bulged out from fat, the imaginations of their heart overflow.
8They mock and speak with malice;
with arrogance they threaten oppression.
8They scoff and speak with malice; from a high place they speak oppression.
9They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongues strut across the earth.
9They have set their mouth in the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth.
10So their peoplea return to this place
and drink up waters in abundance.
10Therefore his people turn here, and waters of fullness are wrung out for them.
11The wicked say, “How can God know?
Does the Most High have knowledge?”
11And they say, “How can God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12Behold, these are the wicked—
always carefree as they increase their wealth.
12Behold, these are the wicked, and at ease always, they have increased in wealth.
13Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure;
in innocence I have washed my hands.
13Surely in vain I have cleansed my heart, and I have washed my hands in innocence.
14For I am afflicted all day long
and punished every morning.
14For I have been stricken all the day, and chastened in the morning.
15If I had said, “I will speak this way,”
then I would have betrayed Your children.
15If I had said, “I will speak like this,” behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your sons.
16When I tried to understand all this,
it was troublesome in my sight
16And I thought to know this—it was toil in my eyes—
17until I entered God’s sanctuary;
then I discerned their end.
17until I came to the sanctuary of God, and discerned their end.
18Surely You set them on slick ground;
You cast them down into ruin.
18Surely You set them on slick ground; You make them fall to destruction.
19How suddenly they are laid waste,
completely swept away by terrors!
19How they have become a desolation in a moment! They are swept away completely by terrors.
20Like one waking from a dream,
so You, O Lord, awaken and despise their form.
20As a dream from awakening, O Lord, in rousing Yourself, You shall despise their image.
21When my heart was grieved
and I was pierced within,
21For my heart had grown sour, and my kidneys pierce themselves.
22I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before You.
22And I was brutish and could not know; I was a beast before You.
23Yet I am always with You;
You hold my right hand.
23And I am always with You; You hold my right hand.
24You guide me with Your counsel,
and later receive me in glory.
24May You lead me with Your counsel, and afterward You will receive me in glory!
25Whom have I in heaven but You?
And on earth I desire no one besides You.
25Who is unto me in the heavens? And besides You I do not take delight on the earth.
26My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strengtha of my heart
and my portion forever.
26My flesh and my heart may be consumed, the rock of my heart and my portion is God to the age.
27Those far from You will surely perish;
You destroy all who are unfaithful to You.
27For behold, those far from You will perish. You destroy everyone prostituting himself from You!
28But as for me, it is good to draw near to God.
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
that I may proclaim all Your works.
28But I—the nearness of God is good for me—I have placed my refuge in the Lord YHWH, to recount all Your works.