Psalms 73:1-15
Psalms 73:1-20 The Message (MSG)
No doubt about it! God is good— good to good people, good to the good-hearted. But I nearly missed it, missed seeing his goodness. I was looking the other way, looking up to the people At the top, envying the wicked who have it made, Who have nothing to worry about, not a care in the whole wide world. Pretentious with arrogance, they wear the latest fashions in violence, Pampered and overfed, decked out in silk bows of silliness. They jeer, using words to kill; they bully their way with words. They’re full of hot air, loudmouths disturbing the peace. People actually listen to them—can you believe it? Like thirsty puppies, they lap up their words. What’s going on here? Is God out to lunch? Nobody’s tending the store. The wicked get by with everything; they have it made, piling up riches. I’ve been stupid to play by the rules; what has it gotten me? A long run of bad luck, that’s what— a slap in the face every time I walk out the door. If I’d have given in and talked like this, I would have betrayed your dear children. Still, when I tried to figure it out, all I got was a splitting headache . . . Until I entered the sanctuary of God. Then I saw the whole picture: The slippery road you’ve put them on, with a final crash in a ditch of delusions. In the blink of an eye, disaster! A blind curve in the dark, and—nightmare! We wake up and rub our eyes. . . . Nothing. There’s nothing to them. And there never was.
Psalms 73:1-15 King James Version (KJV)
Truly God is good to Israel, Even to such as are of a clean heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone; My steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no bands in their death: But their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; Neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; Violence covereth them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness: They have more than heart could wish. They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: They speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue walketh through the earth. Therefore his people return hither: And waters of a full cup are wrung out to them. And they say, How doth God know? And is there knowledge in the most High? Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued, And chastened every morning. If I say, I will speak thus; Behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children.
Psalms 73:1-15 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart! But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, My steps had almost slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pains in their death, And their body is fat. They are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; The garment of violence covers them. Their eye bulges from fatness; The imaginations of their heart run riot. They mock and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak from on high. They have set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue parades through the earth. Therefore his people return to this place, And waters of abundance are drunk by them. They say, “How does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High?” Behold, these are the wicked; And always at ease, they have increased in wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure And washed my hands in innocence; For I have been stricken all day long And chastened every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.
Psalms 73:1-15 New Century Version (NCV)
God is truly good to Israel, to those who have pure hearts. But I had almost stopped believing; I had almost lost my faith because I was jealous of proud people. I saw wicked people doing well. They are not suffering; they are healthy and strong. They don’t have troubles like the rest of us; they don’t have problems like other people. They wear pride like a necklace and put on violence as their clothing. They are looking for profits and do not control their selfish desires. They make fun of others and speak evil; proudly they speak of hurting others. They brag to the sky. They say that they own the earth. So their people turn to them and give them whatever they want. They say, “How can God know? What does God Most High know?” These people are wicked, always at ease, and getting richer. So why have I kept my heart pure? Why have I kept my hands from doing wrong? I have suffered all day long; I have been punished every morning. God, if I had decided to talk like this, I would have let your people down.
Psalms 73:1-15 American Standard Version (ASV)
Surely God is good to Israel, Even to such as are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone; My steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the arrogant, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pangs in their death; But their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; Neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride is as a chain about their neck; Violence covereth them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness: They have more than heart could wish. They scoff, and in wickedness utter oppression: They speak loftily. They have set their mouth in the heavens, And their tongue walketh through the earth. Therefore his people return hither: And waters of a full cup are drained by them. And they say, How doth God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High? Behold, these are the wicked; And, being alway at ease, they increase in riches. Surely in vain have I cleansed my heart, And washed my hands in innocency; For all the day long have I been plagued, And chastened every morning. If I had said, I will speak thus; Behold, I had dealt treacherously with the generation of thy children.
Psalms 73:1-15 New International Version (NIV)
Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills. Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. From their callous hearts comes iniquity; their evil imaginations have no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. They say, “How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?” This is what the wicked are like— always free of care, they go on amassing wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments. If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children.
Psalms 73:1-15 New King James Version (NKJV)
Truly God is good to Israel, To such as are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; My steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pangs in their death, But their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride serves as their necklace; Violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes bulge with abundance; They have more than heart could wish. They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression; They speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue walks through the earth. Therefore his people return here, And waters of a full cup are drained by them. And they say, “How does God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?” Behold, these are the ungodly, Who are always at ease; They increase in riches. Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, And washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, And chastened every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children.
Psalms 73:1-15 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Truly God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, My steps had almost slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pains in their death, Their body is fat and pampered. They are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; Violence covers them like a garment [like a long, luxurious robe]. Their eye bulges from fatness [they have more than the heart desires]; The imaginations of their mind run riot [with foolishness]. They mock and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak loftily [with malice]. They set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue swaggers through the earth. Therefore his people return to this place, And waters of abundance [offered by the irreverent] are [blindly] drunk by them. They say, “How does God know? Is there knowledge [of us] with the Most High?” Behold, these are the ungodly, Who always prosper and are at ease [in the world]; they have increased in wealth. Surely then in vain I have cleansed my heart And washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long have I been stricken, And punished every morning. If I had said, “I will say this,” [and expressed my feelings], I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.
Psalms 73:1-15 New Living Translation (NLT)
Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure. But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong. They don’t have troubles like other people; they’re not plagued with problems like everyone else. They wear pride like a jeweled necklace and clothe themselves with cruelty. These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for! They scoff and speak only evil; in their pride they seek to crush others. They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth. And so the people are dismayed and confused, drinking in all their words. “What does God know?” they ask. “Does the Most High even know what’s happening?” Look at these wicked people— enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply. Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason? I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain. If I had really spoken this way to others, I would have been a traitor to your people.
Psalms 73:1-15 The Passion Translation (TPT)
No one can deny it—God is really good to Israel and to all those with pure hearts. But I nearly missed seeing it for myself. Here’s my story: I narrowly missed losing it all. I was stumbling over what I saw the wicked doing. For when I saw the boasters with such wealth and prosperity, I became jealous over their smug security. Indulging in whatever they wanted, going where they wanted, doing what they wanted, and with no care in the world, no pain, no problems—they seemed to have it made. They lived as though life would never end. They didn’t even try to hide their pride and opulence. Cruelty and violence are parts of their lifestyle. Pampered and pompous, vice oozes from their souls; they overflow with vanity. They’re such snobs—looking down their noses. They even scoff at God! They are nothing but bullies threatening God’s people. They are loudmouths with no fear of God, pretending to know it all— windbags full of hot air, impressing only themselves. Yet the people keep coming back to listen to more of their nonsense. They tell their cohorts, “God will never know. See, he has no clue of what we’re doing.” These are the wicked ones I’m talking about! They never have to lift a finger, living a life of ease while their riches multiply. Have I been foolish to play by the rules and keep my life pure? Here I am suffering under your discipline day after day. I feel like I’m being punished all day long. If I had given in to my pain and spoken of what I was really feeling, it would have sounded like unfaithfulness to the next generation.
Psalms 73:1-15 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed the generation of your children.