73
A psalm of Asaph.
1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose minds* are pure.
2 But I was stumbling, my feet were starting to slide,†
3 because I was jealous of self-important people—I saw how well the wicked were doing.
4 They don't ever seem to get sick; they are strong and healthy.
5 They don't have problems like other people; they don't get hit by disasters like everybody else.
6 They wear their pride like a necklace; they clothe themselves with violence.
7 Their eyes bulge out because they're so fat; their minds are full of selfish vanity.‡
8 They mock people, and speak maliciously; they arrogantly threaten cruelty.
9 They talk irreverently against heaven above, and defame people here on earth.
10 As a result people turn to them and drink in everything they say.§
11 “God won't find out,” they say. “The Most High doesn't even know what's going on!”
12 Look at these wicked people! They don't have a care in the world, and they're always making money!
13 It's been pointless to keep my mind pure and my hands clean.
14 I'm cursed with suffering all day long; every morning I'm punished.
15 If I'd talked like this to others,* I would have betrayed your people.
16 So I thought about it and tried to understand,† but it looked like a lot of hard work to me—
17 until I went into God's Temple. Then I understood what happens to the wicked in the end.
18 For you send them on a slippery path; you throw them down to destruction.
19 How quickly they're destroyed! They come to a terrifying end.
20 Like waking up from a dream, Lord—when you get up you will forget all about them!
21 At that time my thoughts were bitter. I felt like I had been stabbed.
22 I was stupid and ignorant. I was like a brute beast to you.
23 Yet I'm always with you; you hold me by the hand.
24 You tell me what to do; and ultimately you will welcome me in glory.
25 Who is there in heaven for me except you? And I want nothing on earth except you.
26 My body and my mind may fail, but God is the foundation of my life. He is mine forever!
27 Those people who are far from God will die. You destroy all those unfaithful to you.
28 But I love to stay close to God! I have chosen the Lord God to protect me. I will share all that you have done.
* 73:1 Literally, “hearts.” In Hebrew understanding the heart was where thinking was done. † 73:2 The psalmist is indicating he was losing faith. ‡ 73:7 Or “from their evil hearts pours out iniquity.” § 73:10 The Hebrew text is hard to understand: “Therefore he brings back his people here and abundant waters are drained by them.” * 73:15 Referring back to what the wicked said in verse 11. † 73:16 The psalmist is trying to understand why the wicked prosper.