Mazmur 73:1-5

Book 3
(Psalms 73-89)

Psalm 73 ¹ 

A psalm by Asaph.

73:1 Certainly God is good to Israel, ² 

and to those whose motives are pure! ³ 

73:2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped;

my feet almost slid out from under me. ⁴ 

73:3 For I envied those who are proud,

as I observed ⁵  the prosperity ⁶  of the wicked.

73:4 For they suffer no pain; ⁷ 

their bodies ⁸  are strong and well-fed. ⁹ 

73:5 They are immune to the trouble common to men;

they do not suffer as other men do. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 73:21-26

73:21 Yes, ¹¹  my spirit was bitter, ¹² 

and my insides felt sharp pain. ¹³ 

73:22 I was ignorant ¹⁴  and lacked insight; ¹⁵ 

I was as senseless as an animal before you. ¹⁶ 

73:23 But I am continually with you;

you hold my right hand.

73:24 You guide ¹⁷  me by your wise advice,

and then you will lead me to a position of honor. ¹⁸ 

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

I desire no one but you on earth. ¹⁹ 

73:26 My flesh and my heart may grow weak, ²⁰ 

but God always ²¹  protects my heart and gives me stability. ²² 

[73:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 73. In this wisdom psalm the psalmist offers a personal testimony of his struggle with the age-old problem of the prosperity of the wicked. As he observed evil men prosper, he wondered if a godly lifestyle really pays off. In the midst of his discouragement, he reflected upon spiritual truths and realities. He was reminded that the prosperity of the wicked is only temporary. God will eventually vindicate his people.

[73:1]  ² tn Since the psalm appears to focus on an individual’s concerns, not the situation of Israel, this introduction may be a later addition designed to apply the psalm’s message to the entire community. To provide a better parallel with the next line, some emend the Hebrew phrase לְיִשְׂרָאֵל אֱלֹהִים (lÿyisra’el ’elohim, “to Israel, God”) to אֱלֹהִים [or אֵל] לָיָּשָׁר (’elohim [or ’el] lÿyyashar, “God [is good] to the upright one”).

[73:1]  ³ tn Heb “to the pure of heart.”

[73:2]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew verb normally means “to pour out,” but here it must have the nuance “to slide.”

[73:2]  sn My feet almost slid out from under me. The language is metaphorical. As the following context makes clear, the psalmist almost “slipped” in a spiritual sense. As he began to question God’s justice, the psalmist came close to abandoning his faith.

[73:3]  ⁵ tn The imperfect verbal form here depicts the action as continuing in a past time frame.

[73:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “peace” (שָׁלוֹם, shalom).

[73:4]  ⁷ tn In Isa 58:6, the only other occurrence of this word in the OT, the term refers to “bonds” or “ropes.” In Ps 73:4 it is used metaphorically of pain and suffering that restricts one’s enjoyment of life.

[73:4]  ⁸ tn Or “bellies.”

[73:4]  ⁹ tc Or “fat.” The MT of v. 4 reads as follows: “for there are no pains at their death, and fat [is] their body.” Since a reference to the death of the wicked seems incongruous in the immediate context (note v. 5) and premature in the argument of the psalm (see vv. 18-20, 27), some prefer to emend the text by redividing it. The term לְמוֹתָם (lÿmotam,“at their death”) is changed to לָמוֹ תָּם (lamo tam, “[there are no pains] to them, strong [and fat are their bodies]”). The term תָּם (tam, “complete; sound”) is used of physical beauty in Song 5:2; 6:9. This emendation is the basis for the present translation. However, in defense of the MT (the traditional Hebrew text), one may point to an Aramaic inscription from Nerab which views a painful death as a curse and a nonpainful death in one’s old age as a sign of divine favor. See ANET 661.

[73:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in the trouble of man they are not, and with mankind they are not afflicted.”

[73:21]  ¹¹ tn Or perhaps “when.”

[73:21]  ¹² tn The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing attitude in a past time frame.

[73:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “and [in] my kidneys I was pierced.” The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing condition in a past time frame.

[73:22]  ¹⁴ tn Or “brutish, stupid.”

[73:22]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and I was not knowing.”

[73:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “an animal I was with you.”

[73:24]  ¹⁷ tn The imperfect verbal form here suggests this is the psalmist’s ongoing experience.

[73:24]  ¹⁸ tn 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.

[73:25]  ¹⁹ tn 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.

[73:26]  ²⁰ tn 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).

[73:26]  ²¹ tn Or “forever.”

[73:26]  ²² tn 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.