Salmo 73

Envy of the wicked, and nearness to God

¹A psalm of Asaph. \q God really is good to Israel, \q to people with a clean heart. ²But I came close to losing my footing; \q my steps very nearly slid out from under me. ³I had grown jealous of the proud, \q watching wicked people do well. ⁴They die without pain, \q and their bodies are plump and healthy. ⁵They are free from the hardships others carry; \q they are not plagued like the rest of humankind. ⁶So they wear pride like a chain around the neck, \q and violence wraps them like a robe. ⁷Their eyes bulge from their fat faces; \q the fancies of their minds run past all limits. ⁸They jeer and talk of evil; \q from on high they speak of crushing others. ⁹Their mouths speak as if they owned heaven; \q their tongues go swaggering through the land. ¹⁰So his people turn their way \q and gulp down their words like water from a full cup.^{a 11}And they ask, “What can God know? \q Is the Most High aware of anything?” ¹²So these are the wicked: \q never troubled, always growing richer. ¹³So it was for nothing that I kept my heart clean \q and washed my hands to show I was innocent. ¹⁴I have been beaten down the whole day long, \q and corrected afresh each morning. ¹⁵Had I resolved to speak like this, \q I would have broken faith with the family of your children. ¹⁶So I tried to make sense of it, \q but it seemed a weary task to me, ¹⁷until I entered God’s holy place; \q then I saw where they will end. ¹⁸In fact, you have set them where the footing is slick, \q and you let them crash into ruin. ¹⁹In an instant they are ruined! \q Sudden terrors make an end of them. ²⁰They are like a dream once the sleeper wakes; \q Lord, when you stir, you will scorn them as mere shadows. ²¹When my heart had turned sour \q and I felt stabbed deep inside, ²²I was a fool and knew nothing; \q in your presence I was no better than an animal. ²³Even so, I am with you at all times; \q you have taken me by the right hand. ²⁴You lead me by your wise advice, \q and at the end you will take me up in glory. ²⁵Who else is there for me in heaven? \q And having you, I want nothing on earth. ²⁶Though body and heart wear out, \q God is the rock my heart rests on and the share that is mine forever. ²⁷Those who move far from you are lost; \q everyone who deserts you to love another, you cut off. ²⁸As for me, being close to God is my good; \q in the Lord GOD I have found my shelter, \q and I will tell of all you have done.