Psalms 73

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	NEW JERUSALEM
1 A psalm of Asaph. How good God is to the upright, the Lord, to those who are clean of heart!	1 [Psalm Of Asaph] Indeed God is good to Israel, the Lord to those who are pure of heart.
2 I But, as for me, I lost my balance; my feet all but slipped,	2 My feet were on the point of stumbling, a little more and I had slipped,
3 Because I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.	3 envying the arrogant as I did, and seeing the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For they suffer no pain; their bodies are healthy and sleek.	4 For them no such thing as pain, untroubled, their comfortable portliness;
5 They are free of the burdens of life; they are not afflicted like others.	5 exempt from the cares which are the human lot, they have no part in Adam's afflictions.
6 Thus pride adorns them as a necklace; violence clothes them as a robe.	6 So pride is a necklace to them, violence the garment they wear.
7 Out of their stupidity comes sin; evil thoughts flood their hearts.	7 From their fat oozes out malice, their hearts drip with cunning.
8 They scoff and spout their malice; from on high they utter threats.	8 Cynical y they advocate evil, loftily they advocate force.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens, their tongues roam the earth.	9 Their mouth claims heaven for themselves, and their tongue is never stil on earth.
10 So my people turn to them and drink deeply of their words.	10 That is why my people turn to them, and enjoy the waters of plenty,
11 They say, "Does God really know?" "Does the Most High have any knowledge?"	11 saying, 'How can God know? What knowledge can the Most High have?'
12 Such, then, are the wicked, always carefree, increasing their wealth.	12 That is what the wicked are like, piling up wealth without any worries.
13 Is it in vain that I have kept my heart clean, washed my hands in innocence?	13 Was it useless, then, to have kept my own heart clean, to have washed my hands in innocence?
14 For I am afflicted day after day, chastised every morning.	14 When I was under a hail of blows al day long, and punished every morning,
15 Had I thought, "I will speak as they do," I would have betrayed your people.	15 had I said, 'I shal talk like them,' I should have betrayed your children's race.
16 Though I tried to understand all this, it was too difficult for me,	16 So I set myself to understand this: how difficult I found it!
17 Till I entered the sanctuary of God and came to understand their end.	17 Until I went into the sanctuaries of the gods and understood what was destined to become of them.
18 You set them, indeed, on a slippery road; you hurl them down to ruin.	18 You place them on a slippery slope and drive them down into chaos.
19 How suddenly they are devastated; undone by disasters forever!	19 How sudden their hideous destruction! They are swept away, annihilated by terror!
20 They are like a dream after waking, Lord, dismissed like shadows when you arise.	20 Like a dream upon waking, Lord, when you awake, you dismiss their image.
21 Since my heart was embittered and my soul deeply wounded,	21 My heart grew embittered, my affections dried up,
22 I was stupid and could not understand; I was like a brute beast in your presence.	22 I was stupid and uncomprehending, a clumsy animal in your presence.
23 Yet I am always with you; you take hold of my right hand.	23 Even so, I stayed in your presence, you grasped me by the right hand;
24 With your counsel you guide me, and at the end receive me with honor.	24 you will guide me with advice, and wil draw me in the wake of your glory.
25 Whom else have I in the heavens? None beside you delights me on earth.	25 Who else is there for me in heaven? And, with you, I lack nothing on earth.
26 Though my flesh and my heart fail, God is the rock of my heart, my portion forever.	26 My heart and my flesh are pining away: my heart's rock, my portion, God for ever!
27 But those who are far from you perish; you destroy those unfaithful to you.	27 Truly, those who abandon you will perish; you destroy those who adulterously desert you,
28 As for me, to be near God is my good, to make the Lord GOD my refuge. I shall declare all your works in the gates of daughter Zion.	28 whereas my happiness is to be near God. I have made the Lord Yahweh my refuge, to tel of al yourworks.