Psalm 72–73

A Prayer for the King

Of Solomon.

72God, give the king your good judgment

and the king’s son your goodness.

²Help him judge your people fairly

and decide what is right for the poor.

³Let there be peace on the mountains

and goodness on the hills for the people.

⁴Help him be fair to the poor

and save the needy

and punish those who hurt them.

⁵May they respect you as long as the sun shines

and as long as the moon glows.

⁶Let him be like rain on the grass,

like showers that water the earth.

⁷Let goodness be plentiful while he lives.

Let peace continue as long as there is a moon.

⁸Let his kingdom go from sea to sea,

and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.

⁹Let the people of the desert bow down to him,

and make his enemies lick the dust.

¹⁰Let the kings of Tarshish and the faraway lands

bring him gifts.

Let the kings of Sheba and Seba

bring their presents to him.

¹¹Let all kings bow down to him

and all nations serve him.

¹²He will help the poor when they cry out

and will save the needy when no one else will help.

¹³He will be kind to the weak and poor,

and he will save their lives.

¹⁴He will save them from cruel people who try to hurt them,

because their lives are precious to him.

¹⁵Long live the king!

Let him receive gold from Sheba.

Let people always pray for him

and bless him all day long.

¹⁶Let the fields grow plenty of grain

and the hills be covered with crops.

Let the land be as fertile as Lebanon,

and let the cities grow like the grass in a field.

¹⁷Let the king be famous forever;

let him be remembered as long as the sun shines.

Let the nations be blessed because of him,

and may they all bless him.

¹⁸Praise the Lord God, the God of Israel,

who alone does such miracles.

¹⁹Praise his glorious name forever.

Let his glory fill the whole world.

Amen and amen.

²⁰This ends the prayers of David son of Jesse.

Should the Wicked Be Rich?

A psalm of Asaph.

73God is truly good to Israel,

to those who have pure hearts.

²But I had almost stopped believing;

I had almost lost my faith

³because I was jealous of proud people.

I saw wicked people doing well.

⁴They are not suffering;

they are healthy and strong.

⁵They don’t have troubles like the rest of us;

they don’t have problems like other people.

⁶They wear pride like a necklace

and put on violence as their clothing.

⁷They are looking for profits

and do not control their selfish desires.

⁸They make fun of others and speak evil;

proudly they speak of hurting others.

⁹They brag to the sky.

They say that they own the earth.

¹⁰So their people turn to them

and give them whatever they want.

¹¹They say, “How can God know?

What does God Most High know?”

¹²These people are wicked,

always at ease, and getting richer.

¹³So why have I kept my heart pure?

Why have I kept my hands from doing wrong?

¹⁴I have suffered all day long;

I have been punished every morning.

¹⁵God, if I had decided to talk like this,

I would have let your people down.

¹⁶I tried to understand all this,

but it was too hard for me to see

¹⁷until I went to the Temple of God.

Then I understood what will happen to them.

¹⁸You have put them in danger;

you cause them to be destroyed.

¹⁹They are destroyed in a moment;

they are swept away by terrors.

²⁰It will be like waking from a dream.

Lord, when you rise up, they will disappear.

²¹When my heart was sad

and I was angry,

²²I was senseless and stupid.

I acted like an animal toward you.

²³But I am always with you;

you have held my hand.

²⁴You guide me with your advice,

and later you will receive me in honor.

²⁵I have no one in heaven but you;

I want nothing on earth besides you.

²⁶My body and my mind may become weak,

but God is my strength.

He is mine forever.

²⁷Those who are far from God will die;

you destroy those who are unfaithful.

²⁸But I am close to God, and that is good.

The Lord God is my protection.

I will tell all that you have done.