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Psalms 73:26
73:11 They say, How does God know
what we do?
Is the sovereign One aware of what goes
on?
73:12 Take a good look! This is what the
wicked are like,
those who always have it so easy and get
richer and richer.
73:13 I concluded, Surely in vain I have
kept my motives pure
and maintained a pure lifestyle.
73:14 I suffer all day long,
and am punished every morning.
73:15 If I had publicized these thoughts,
I would have betrayed your loyal follow-
ers.
73:16 When I tried to make sense of this,
it was troubling to me.
73:17 Then I entered the precincts of
Gods temple,10
and understood the destiny of the wick-
ed.11
73:18 Surely12 you put them in slippery
places;
you bring them down13 to ruin.
tn Heb How does God know? Is there knowledge with
the Most High? They appear to be practical atheists, who
acknowledge Gods existence and sovereignty in theory, but
deny his involvement in the world (see Pss 10:4, 11; 14:1).
tn Heb Look, these [are] the wicked.
tn Heb the ones who are always at ease [who] increase
wealth.
tn The words I concluded are supplied in the translation.
It is apparent that vv. 13-14 reflect the psalmists thoughts at
an earlier time (see vv. 2-3), prior to the spiritual awakening
he describes in vv. 17-28.
tn Heb heart, viewed here as the seat of ones thoughts
and motives.
tn Heb and washed my hands in innocence. The psalm-
ist uses an image from cultic ritual to picture his moral life-
style. The reference to hands suggests actions.
tn Heb If I had said, I will speak out like this.
tn Heb look, the generation of your sons I would have be-
trayed. The phrase generation of your [i.e., Gods] sons oc-
curs only here in the OT. Some equate the phrase with gener-
ation 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 Gods sons. Per-
haps the psalmist refers here to those who are Israelites in
the true sense because of their loyalty to God (note the juxta-
position of Israel with the pure in heart in v. 1).
tn Heb and [when] I pondered to understand this, trou-
bling it [was] in my eyes.
10tn The plural of the term ( miqdash) probably refers
to the temple precincts (see Ps 68:35; Jer 51:51).
11tn Heb I discerned their end. At the temple the psalm-
ist 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.
12tn The use of the Hebrew term ( akh, surely) here
literarily counteracts its use in v. 13. The repetition draws at-
tention to the contrast between the two statements, the first
of which expresses the psalmists earlier despair and the sec-
ond his newly discovered confidence.
13tn Heb cause them to fall.
73:19 How desolate they become in a
mere moment!
Terrifying judgments make their demise
complete!14
73:20 They are like a dream after one
wakes up.15
O Lord, when you awake16 you will de-
spise them.17
73:21 Yes,18 my spirit was bitter,19
and my insides felt sharp pain.20
73:22 I was ignorant21 and lacked insight;22
I was as senseless as an animal before
you.23
73:23 But I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
73:24 You guide24 me by your wise advice,
and then you will lead me to a position of
honor.25
73:25 Whom do I have in heaven but you?
I desire no one but you on earth.26
73:26 My flesh and my heart may grow
weak,27
but God always28 protects my heart and
gives me stability.29
14tn Heb they come to an end, they are finished, from
terrors.
15tn Heb like a dream from awakening. They lack any real
substance; their prosperity will last for only a brief time.
16sn When you awake. The psalmist compares Gods inac-
tivity to sleep and the time of Gods judgment to his awaken-
ing from sleep.
17tn Heb you will despise their form. The Hebrew term
(tselem, form; image) also suggests their short-lived nature.
Rather than having real substance, they are like the mere im-
ages that populate ones dreams. Note the similar use of the
term in Ps 39:6.
18tn Or perhaps when.
19tn The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing
attitude in a past time frame.
20tn Heb and [in] my kidneys I was pierced. The imper-
fect verbal form here describes a continuing condition in a
past time frame.
21tn Or brutish, stupid.
22tn Heb and I was not knowing.
23tn Heb an animal I was with you.
24tn The imperfect verbal form here suggests this is the
psalmists ongoing experience.
25tn Heb and afterward [to] glory you will take me. Some
interpreters view this as the psalmists confidence in an af-
terlife in Gods presence and understand ( cavod) as a
metonymic reference to Gods presence in heaven. But this
seems unlikely in the present context. The psalmist antici-
pates a time of vindication, when the wicked are destroyed
and he is honored by God for his godly life style. The verb
(laqakh, take) here carries the nuance lead, guide, con-
duct, as in Num 23:14, 27-28; Josh 24:3 and Prov 24:11.
26tn 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.
27tn The Hebrew verb ( khalah, to fail; to grow weak)
does not refer here to physical death per se, but to the physi-
cal weakness that sometimes precedes death (see Job
33:21; Pss 71:9; 143:7; Prov 5:11).
28tn Or forever.
29tn 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.