Psalm 73:17–28

until I went into the sanctuary of God;

then I discerned their end.

Truly you set them in slippery places;

you make them fall to ruin.

How they are destroyed in a moment,

swept away utterly by terrors!

Like a dream when one awakes,

O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.

When my soul was embittered,

when I was pricked in heart,

I was brutish and ignorant;

I was like a beast toward you.

Nevertheless, I am continually with you;

you hold my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will receive me to glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;

you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.

But for me it is good to be near God;

I have made the Lord God my refuge,

that I may tell of all your works.

till I entered the sanctuary of God;

then I understood their final destiny.

Surely you place them on slippery ground;

you cast them down to ruin.

How suddenly are they destroyed,

completely swept away by terrors!

They are like a dream when one awakes;

when you arise, Lord,

you will despise them as fantasies.

When my heart was grieved

and my spirit embittered,

I was senseless and ignorant;

I was a brute beast before you.

Yet I am always with you;

you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

Those who are far from you will perish;

you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

But as for me, it is good to be near God.

I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;

I will tell of all your deeds.

until I entered God’s sanctuary.

Then I understood their destiny.

Indeed, you put them in slippery places;

you make them fall into ruin.

How suddenly they become a desolation!

They come to an end, swept away by terrors.

Like one waking from a dream,

Lord, when arising, you will despise their image.

When I became embittered

and my innermost being was wounded,

I was stupid and didn’t understand;

I was an unthinking animal toward you.

Yet I am always with you;

you hold my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will take me up in glory.

Who do I have in heaven but you?

And I desire nothing on earth but you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart,

my portion forever.

Those far from you will certainly perish;

you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

But as for me, God’s presence is my good.

I have made the Lord God my refuge,

so I can tell about all you do.

Then I went into your sanctuary, O God,

and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.

Truly, you put them on a slippery path

and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.

In an instant they are destroyed,

completely swept away by terrors.

When you arise, O Lord,

you will laugh at their silly ideas

as a person laughs at dreams in the morning.

Then I realized that my heart was bitter,

and I was all torn up inside.

I was so foolish and ignorant—

I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.

Yet I still belong to you;

you hold my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

leading me to a glorious destiny.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

I desire you more than anything on earth.

My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,

but God remains the strength of my heart;

he is mine forever.

Those who desert him will perish,

for you destroy those who abandon you.

But as for me, how good it is to be near God!

I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,

and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

until I went into the sanctuary of God.

Then I understood their fate.

Surely you set them on slippery places.

You cause them to fall onto ruin.

How they become a desolation in a moment!

They come to a complete end by terrors.

Like a dream upon awakening,

when you wake up, O Lord,

you will despise their fleeting form.

When my heart was embittered

and I felt stabbed in my kidneys,

then I was brutish and ignorant.

With you I was like the beasts.

But I am continually with you;

you have hold of my right hand.

You will guide me with your advice,

and afterward you will take me into honor.

Whom do I have in the heavens except you?

And with you I have no other desire on earth.

My flesh and heart failed,

but God is the strength of my heart and my reward forever.

For indeed, those distancing themselves from you will be ruined.

You destroy each who abandons you for harlotry.

But as for me, the approach to God is for my good.

I have set the Lord Yahweh as my refuge,

in order to tell all your works.

Until I went into the sanctuary of God;

Then understood I their end.

Surely thou didst set them in slippery places:

Thou castedst them down into destruction.

How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment!

They are utterly consumed with terrors.

As a dream when one awaketh;

So, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.

Thus my heart was grieved,

And I was pricked in my reins.

So foolish was I, and ignorant:

I was as a beast before thee.

Nevertheless I am continually with thee:

Thou hast holden me by my right hand.

Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel,

And afterward receive me to glory.

Whom have I in heaven but thee?

And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.

My flesh and my heart faileth:

But God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish:

Thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee.

But it is good for me to draw near to God:

I have put my trust in the Lord God,

That I may declare all thy works.