Psalms 73:1
998
Book 3
(Psalms 73-89)
Psalm 73
A psalm by Asaph.
73:1 Certainly God is good to Israel,
and to those whose motives are pure!
73:2 But as for me, my feet almost
slipped;
my feet almost slid out from under me.
73:3 For I envied those who are proud,
as I observed the prosperity of the
wicked.
73:4 For they suffer no pain;
their bodies are strong and well-fed.
73:5 They are immune to the trouble com-
mon to men;
they do not suffer as other men do.10
73:6 Arrogance is their necklace,11
to David appear after this (see Pss 86, 101, 103, 108-110,
122, 124, 131, 138-145).
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.
tn Since the psalm appears to focus on an individuals
concerns, not the situation of Israel, this introduction may be
a later addition designed to apply the psalms message to the
entire community. To provide a better parallel with the next
line, some emend the Hebrew phrase ( lyisrael
elohim, to Israel, God) to [ or ( ] elohim [or el]
lyyashar, God [is good] to the upright one).
tn Heb to the pure of heart.
tn The Hebrew verb normally means to pour out, but
here it must have the nuance to slide.
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 Gods justice, the psalmist came close to abandon-
ing his faith.
tn The imperfect verbal form here depicts the action as
continuing in a past time frame.
tn Heb peace ( , shalom).
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 ones
enjoyment of life.
tn Or bellies.
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 refer-
ence 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 ( lmotam,at their death)
is changed to ( lamo tam, [there are no pains] to them,
strong [and fat are their bodies]). The term ( tam, com-
plete; sound) is used of physical beauty in Song 5:2; 6:9.
This emendation is the basis for the present translation. How-
ever, 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 ones old
age as a sign of divine favor. See ANET 661.
10tn Heb in the trouble of man they are not, and with man-
kind they are not afflicted.
11sn Arrogance is their necklace. The metaphor suggests
that their arrogance is something the wicked wear proudly.
It draws attention to them, just as a beautiful necklace does
to its owner.
and violence their clothing.12
73:7 Their prosperity causes them to do
wrong;13
their thoughts are sinful.14
73:8 They mock15 and say evil things;16
they proudly threaten violence.17
73:9 They speak as if they rule in heaven,
and lay claim to the earth.18
73:10 Therefore they have more than
enough food to eat,
and even suck up the water of the sea.19
12tn Heb a garment of violence covers them. The meta-
phor suggests that violence is habitual for the wicked. They
wear it like clothing; when one looks at them, violence is
what one sees.
13tc The MT reads it goes out from fatness their eye,
which might be paraphrased, their eye protrudes [or bulg-
es] because of fatness. This in turn might refer to their
greed; their eyes bug out when they see rich food or pro-
duce (the noun [ khelev, fatness] sometimes refers to
such food or produce). However, when used with the verb
(yatsa, go out) the preposition ( from) more naturally in-
dicates source. For this reason it is preferable to emend
(enemo, their eye) to , (avonamo, their sin) and read,
and their sin proceeds forth from fatness, that is, their pros-
perity gives rise to their sinful attitudes. If one follows this tex-
tual reading, another interpretive option is to take ( fat-
ness) in the sense of unreceptive, insensitive (see its use
in Ps 17:10). In this case, the sin of the wicked proceeds forth
from their spiritual insensitivity.
14tn Heb the thoughts of [their] heart [i.e., mind] cross
over (i.e., violate Gods moral boundary, see Ps 17:3).
15tn The verb ( muq, mock) occurs only here in the OT.
16tn Heb and speak with evil.
17tn Heb oppression from an elevated place they speak.
The traditional accentuation of the MT places oppression
with the preceding line. In this case, one might translate,
they mock and speak with evil [of] oppression, from an el-
evated place [i.e., proudly] they speak. By placing oppres-
sion with what follows, one achieves better poetic balance in
the parallelism.
18tn Heb they set in heaven their mouth, and their tongue
walks through the earth. The meaning of the text is uncer-
tain. Perhaps the idea is that they lay claim to heaven (i.e.,
speak as if they were ruling in heaven) and move through the
earth declaring their superiority and exerting their influence.
Some take the preposition -( bet) the first line as adversative
and translate, they set their mouth against heaven, that is,
they defy God.
19tc Heb therefore his people return [so Qere (marginal
reading); Kethib (consonantal text) has he brings back] to
here, and waters of abundance are sucked up by them. The
traditional Hebrew text (MT) defies explanation. The pres-
ent translation reflects M. Dahoods proposed emendations
(Psalms [AB], 2:190) and reads the Hebrew text as follows:
( therefore they are filled with
food, and waters of abundance they suck up for themselves).
The reading ( yisvum lekhem, they are filled with
food) assumes (1) an emendation of ( yashyyv, he
will bring back his people) to ( yisvum, they will be
filled; a Qal imperfect third masculine plural form from
[sava] with enclitic mem [)], and (2) an emendation of
(halom, to here) to ( food). The expression be filled/
fill with food appears elsewhere at least ten times (see Ps
132:15, for example). In the second line the Niphal form
(yimmatsu, derived from , matsah, drain) is emended
to a Qal form ( yamotsu), derived from ( matsats, to
suck). In Isa 66:11 the verbs ( sava; proposed in Ps
73:10a) and ( proposed in Ps 73:10b) are parallel. The
point of the emended text is this: Because they are seemingly
sovereign (v. 9), they become greedy and grab up everything
they need and more.