Psalms 73 — ASV

A Psalm of Asaph.

73Verse 1Surely God is good to Israel,
Even to such as are pure in heart.
^{Verse 2}But as for me, my feet were almost gone;
My steps had well nigh slipped.
^{Verse 3}For I was envious at the arrogant,
When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
^{Verse 4}For there are no pangs in their death;
But their strength is firm.
^{Verse 5}They are not in trouble as other men;
Neither are they plagued like other men.
^{Verse 6}Therefore pride is as a chain about their neck;
Violence covereth them as a garment.
^{Verse 7}Their eyes stand out with fatness:
They have more than heart could wish.
^{Verse 8}They scoff, and in wickedness utter oppression:
They speak loftily.
^{Verse 9}They have set their mouth in the heavens,
And their tongue walketh through the earth.
^{Verse 10}Therefore his people return hither:
And waters of a full cup are drained by them.
^{Verse 11}And they say, How doth God know?
And is there knowledge in the Most High?
^{Verse 12}Behold, these are the wicked;
And, being alway at ease, they increase in riches.
^{Verse 13}Surely in vain have I cleansed my heart,
And washed my hands in innocency;
^{Verse 14}For all the day long have I been plagued,
And chastened every morning.
^{Verse 15}If I had said, I will speak thus;
Behold, I had dealt treacherously with the generation of thy children.
^{Verse 16}When I thought how I might know this,
It was too painful for me;
^{Verse 17}Until I went into the sanctuary of God,
And considered their latter end.
^{Verse 18}Surely thou settest them in slippery places:
Thou castest them down to destruction.
^{Verse 19}How are they become a desolation in a moment!
They are utterly consumed with terrors.
^{Verse 20}As a dream when one awaketh,
So, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou wilt despise their image.
^{Verse 21}For my soul was grieved,
And I was pricked in my heart:
^{Verse 22}So brutish was I, and ignorant;
I was as a beast before thee.
^{Verse 23}Nevertheless I am continually with thee:
Thou hast holden my right hand.
^{Verse 24}Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.
^{Verse 25}Whom have I in heaven but thee?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.
^{Verse 26}My flesh and my heart faileth;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.
^{Verse 27}For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish:
Thou hast destroyed all them that play the harlot, departing from thee.
^{Verse 28}But it is good for me to draw near unto God:
I have made the Lord Jehovah my refuge,
That I may tell of all thy works.