Logos Bible Study

Psalm 73:12–20

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73:12Take a good look! This is what the wicked are like,20

those who always have it so easy and get richer and richer.21

73:13I concluded,22 “Surely in vain I have kept my motives23 pure

and maintained a pure lifestyle.24

73:14I suffer all day long,

and am punished every morning.”

73:15If I had publicized these thoughts,25

I would have betrayed your loyal followers.26

73:16When I tried to make sense of this,

it was troubling to me.27

73:17Then I entered the precincts of God’s temple,28

and understood the destiny of the wicked.29

73:18Surely30 you put them in slippery places;

you bring them down31 to ruin.

73:19How desolate they become in a mere moment!

Terrifying judgments make their demise complete!32

73:20They are like a dream after one wakes up.33

O Lord, when you awake34 you will despise them.35

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Footnotes

  1. 20 Heb “Look, these [are] the wicked.”
  2. 21 Heb “the ones who are always at ease [who] increase wealth.”
  3. 22 The words “I concluded” are supplied in the translation. It is apparent that vv. 13–14 reflect the psalmist’s thoughts at an earlier time (see vv. 2–3), prior to the spiritual awakening he describes in vv. 17–28.
  4. 23 Heb “heart,” viewed here as the seat of one’s thoughts and motives.
  5. 24 Heb “and washed my hands in innocence.” The psalmist uses an image from cultic ritual to picture his moral lifestyle. The reference to “hands” suggests actions.
  6. 25 Heb “If I had said, ‘I will speak out like this.’ ”
  7. 26 Heb “look, the generation of your sons I would have betrayed.” The phrase “generation of your [i.e., God’s] sons” occurs only here in the OT. Some equate the phrase with “generation of the godly” (Ps 14:5), “generation of the ones seeking him” (Ps 24:6), and “generation of the upright” (Ps 112:2). In Deut 14:1 the Israelites are referred to as God’s “sons.” Perhaps the psalmist refers here to those who are “Israelites” in the true sense because of their loyalty to God (note the juxtaposition of “Israel” with “the pure in heart” in v. 1).
  8. 27 Heb “and [when] I pondered to understand this, troubling it [was] in my eyes.”
  9. 28 The plural of the term מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash) probably refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 68:35; Jer 51:51).
  10. 29 Heb “I discerned their end.” At the temple the psalmist perhaps received an oracle of deliverance announcing his vindication and the demise of the wicked (see Ps 12) or heard songs of confidence (for example, Ps 11), wisdom psalms (for example, Pss 1, 37), and hymns (for example, Ps 112) that describe the eventual downfall of the proud and wealthy.
  11. 30 The use of the Hebrew term אַךְ (’akh, “surely”) here literarily counteracts its use in v. 13. The repetition draws attention to the contrast between the two statements, the first of which expresses the psalmist’s earlier despair and the second his newly discovered confidence.
  12. 31 Heb “cause them to fall.”
  13. 32 Heb “they come to an end, they are finished, from terrors.”
  14. 33 Heb “like a dream from awakening.” They lack any real substance; their prosperity will last for only a brief time.
  15. 34 When you awake. The psalmist compares God’s inactivity to sleep and the time of God’s judgment to his awakening from sleep.
  16. 35 Heb “you will despise their form.” The Hebrew term צֶלֶם (tselem, “form; image”) also suggests their short-lived nature. Rather than having real substance, they are like the mere images that populate one’s dreams. Note the similar use of the term in Ps 39:6.

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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.

But when I thought how to understand this,

it seemed to me a wearisome task,

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.

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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.

When I tried to understand all this,

it troubled me deeply

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.

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Look at them—the wicked!

They are always at ease,

and they increase their wealth.

Did I purify my heart

and wash my hands in innocence for nothing?

For I am afflicted all day long

and punished every morning.

If I had decided to say these things aloud,

I would have betrayed your people.

When I tried to understand all this,

it seemed hopeless

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.

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

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.

So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper.

But what a difficult task it is!

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.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

See, these are the wicked,

and they increase wealth, ever carefree.

Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure,

and washed my hands in innocence.

And I have been plagued all day

and rebuked every morning.

If I had said, “I will speak thus,”

behold, I would have acted treacherously

against your children’s generation.

When I thought about how to understand this,

it was troubling in my eyes

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.

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

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.

When I thought to know this,

It was too painful for me;

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.

Public Domain