Psalm 72–73

PSALM 72

The Reign of the Righteous King.

A Psalm of Solomon.

¹Give the king ^aYour judgments, O God,

And ^bYour righteousness to the king’s son.

²¹May ²he ^ajudge Your people with righteousness

And ^3bYour afflicted with justice.

³¹Let the mountains bring ^2apeace to the people,

And the hills, in righteousness.

⁴¹May he ^avindicate the ²afflicted of the people,

Save the children of the needy

And crush the oppressor.

⁵¹Let them fear You ^awhile the sun endures,

And ²as long as the moon, throughout all generations.

⁶¹May he come down ^alike rain upon the mown grass,

Like ^bshowers that water the earth.

⁷In his days ¹may the ^arighteous flourish,

And ^babundance of peace till the moon is no more.

⁸May he also rule ^afrom sea to sea

And from the River to the ends of the earth.

⁹¹Let ^athe nomads of the desert ^bbow before him,

And his enemies ^click the dust.

¹⁰¹Let the kings of ^aTarshish and of the ^2bislands bring presents;

The kings of ^cSheba and ^dSeba ^eoffer ³gifts.

¹¹¹And let all ^akings bow down before him,

All ^bnations serve him.

¹²For he will ^adeliver the needy when he cries for help,

The ¹afflicted also, and him who has no helper.

¹³He will have ^acompassion on the poor and needy,

And the ¹lives of the needy he will save.

¹⁴He will ^1arescue their ²life from oppression and violence,

And their blood will be ^bprecious in his sight;

¹⁵So may he live, and may the ^agold of Sheba be given to him;

And let ¹them pray for him continually;

Let them bless him all day long.

¹⁶May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;

Its fruit will wave like the cedars of ^aLebanon;

And may those from the city flourish like ^bvegetation of the earth.

¹⁷May his ^aname endure forever;

May his name ¹increase ^2bas long as the sun shines;

And let men ^cbless themselves by him;

^dLet all nations call him blessed.

^18aBlessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,

Who alone ^bworks wonders.

¹⁹And blessed be His ^aglorious name forever;

And may the whole ^bearth be filled with His glory.

^cAmen, and Amen.

²⁰The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

BOOK 3

PSALM 73

The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.

A Psalm of Asaph.

¹Surely God is ^agood to Israel,

To those who are ^bpure in heart!

²But as for me, ^amy feet came close to stumbling,

My steps ¹had almost slipped.

³For I was ^aenvious of the ¹arrogant

As I saw the ^bprosperity of the wicked.

⁴For there are no pains in their death,

And their ¹body is fat.

⁵They are ^anot ¹in trouble as other ²men,

Nor are they ^bplagued ³like mankind.

⁶Therefore pride is ^atheir necklace;

The ^bgarment of violence covers them.

⁷Their eye ¹bulges from ^afatness;

The imaginations of their heart ²run riot.

⁸They ^amock and ¹wickedly speak of oppression;

They ^bspeak from on high.

⁹They have ^aset their mouth ¹against the heavens,

And their tongue ²parades through the earth.

¹⁰Therefore ¹his people return to this place,

And waters of ^aabundance are ²drunk by them.

¹¹They say, “^aHow does God know?

And is there knowledge ¹with the Most High?”

¹²Behold, ^athese are the wicked;

And always ^bat ease, they have increased in wealth.

¹³Surely ^ain vain I have ¹kept my heart pure

And ^bwashed my hands in innocence;

¹⁴For I have been stricken ^aall day long

And ^1bchastened every morning.

¹⁵If I had said, “I will speak thus,”

Behold, I would have betrayed the ^ageneration of Your children.

¹⁶When I ^apondered to understand this,

It was ¹troublesome in my sight

¹⁷Until I came into the ^1asanctuary of God;

Then I perceived their ^bend.

¹⁸Surely You set them in ^aslippery places;

You cast them down to ^1bdestruction.

¹⁹How they are ^1adestroyed in a moment!

They are utterly swept away by ^bsudden terrors!

²⁰Like a ^adream when one awakes,

O Lord, when ^baroused, You will ^cdespise their ¹form.

²¹When my ^aheart was embittered

And I was ^bpierced ¹within,

²²Then I was ^asenseless and ignorant;

I was like ¹a ^bbeast ²before You.

²³Nevertheless ^aI am continually with You;

You have taken hold of my right hand.

²⁴With Your counsel You will ^aguide me,

And afterward ^breceive me ¹to glory.

^25aWhom have I in heaven but You?

And ¹besides You, I desire nothing on earth.

²⁶My ^aflesh and my heart may fail,

But God is the ¹strength of my heart and my ^bportion forever.

²⁷For, behold, ^athose who are far from You will ^bperish;

You have ¹destroyed all those who ^2care unfaithful to You.

²⁸But as for me, ^athe nearness of God is my good;

I have made the Lord ¹God my ^brefuge,

That I may ^ctell of all Your works.