Psalms 73 — FBV

A psalm of Asaph.

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