Logos Bible Study

Psalm 73:17–28

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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

73:21Yes,36 my spirit was bitter,37

and my insides felt sharp pain.38

73:22I was ignorant39 and lacked insight;40

I was as senseless as an animal before you.41

73:23But I am continually with you;

you hold my right hand.

73:24You guide42 me by your wise advice,

and then you will lead me to a position of honor.43

73:25Whom do I have in heaven but you?

I desire no one but you on earth.44

73:26My flesh and my heart may grow weak,45

but God always46 protects my heart and gives me stability.47

73:27Yes,48 look! Those far from you49 die;

you destroy everyone who is unfaithful to you.50

73:28But as for me, God’s presence is all I need.51

I have made the sovereign Lord my shelter,

as52 I declare all the things you have done.

Read in Logos
Psalm 73:25: Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

Footnotes

  1. 28 The plural of the term מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash) probably refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 68:35; Jer 51:51).
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 31 Heb “cause them to fall.”
  5. 32 Heb “they come to an end, they are finished, from terrors.”
  6. 33 Heb “like a dream from awakening.” They lack any real substance; their prosperity will last for only a brief time.
  7. 34 When you awake. The psalmist compares God’s inactivity to sleep and the time of God’s judgment to his awakening from sleep.
  8. 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.
  9. 36 Or perhaps “when.”
  10. 37 The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing attitude in a past time frame.
  11. 38 Heb “and [in] my kidneys I was pierced.” The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing condition in a past time frame.
  12. 39 Or “brutish, stupid.”
  13. 40 Heb “and I was not knowing.”
  14. 41 Heb “an animal I was with you.”
  15. 42 The imperfect verbal form here suggests this is the psalmist’s ongoing experience.
  16. 43 Heb “and afterward [to] glory you will take me.” Some interpreters view this as the psalmist’s confidence in an afterlife in God’s presence and understand כָּבוֹד (cavod) as a metonymic reference to God’s presence in heaven. But this seems unlikely in the present context. The psalmist anticipates a time of vindication, when the wicked are destroyed and he is honored by God for his godly life style. The verb לָקַח (laqakh, “take”) here carries the nuance “lead, guide, conduct,” as in Num 23:14, 27–28; Josh 24:3 and Prov 24:11.
  17. 44 Heb “Who [is there] for me in heaven? And besides you I do not desire [anyone] in the earth.” The psalmist uses a merism (heaven/earth) to emphasize that God is the sole object of his desire and worship in the entire universe.
  18. 45 The Hebrew verb כָלָה (khalah, “to fail; to grow weak”) does not refer here to physical death per se, but to the physical weakness that sometimes precedes death (see Job 33:21; Pss 71:9; 143:7; Prov 5:11).
  19. 46 Or “forever.”
  20. 47 Heb “is the rocky summit of my heart and my portion.” The psalmist compares the Lord to a rocky summit where one could go for protection and to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel.
  21. 48 Or “for.”
  22. 49 The following line defines the phrase far from you in a spiritual sense. Those “far” from God are those who are unfaithful and disloyal to him.
  23. 50 Heb “everyone who commits adultery from you.”
  24. 51 Heb “but as for me, the nearness of God for me [is] good.”
  25. 52 The infinitive construct with -לְ (lé) is understood here as indicating an attendant circumstance. Another option is to take it as indicating purpose (“so that I might declare”) or result (“with the result that I declare”).

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

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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.

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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.

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

CSBChristian Standard Bible

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.

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

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.

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

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.

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

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.

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