Psalms 73:12-15

73:12 Take a good look! This is what the wicked are like, ¹ 

those who always have it so easy and get richer and richer. ² 

73:13 I concluded, ³  “Surely in vain I have kept my motives ⁴  pure

and maintained a pure lifestyle. ⁵ 

73:14 I suffer all day long,

and am punished every morning.”

73:15 If I had publicized these thoughts, ⁶ 

I would have betrayed your loyal followers. ⁷ 

Ecclesiastes 5:8

Government Corruption

5:8 If you see the extortion ⁸  of the poor,

or the perversion ⁹  of justice and fairness in the government, ¹⁰ 

do not be astonished by the matter.

For the high official is watched by a higher official, ¹¹ 

and there are higher ones over them! ¹² 

Habakkuk 1:13

1:13 You are too just ¹³  to tolerate ¹⁴  evil;

you are unable to condone ¹⁵  wrongdoing.

So why do you put up with such treacherous people? ¹⁶ 

Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour ¹⁷  those more righteous than they are? ¹⁸ 

Romans 11:33

11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!

[73:12]  ¹ tn Heb “Look, these [are] the wicked.”

[73:12]  ² tn Heb “the ones who are always at ease [who] increase wealth.”

[73:13]  ³ tn The words “I concluded” are supplied in the translation. It is apparent that vv. 13-14 reflect the psalmist’s thoughts at an earlier time (see vv. 2-3), prior to the spiritual awakening he describes in vv. 17-28.

[73:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “heart,” viewed here as the seat of one’s thoughts and motives.

[73:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “and washed my hands in innocence.” The psalmist uses an image from cultic ritual to picture his moral lifestyle. The reference to “hands” suggests actions.

[73:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “If I had said, ‘I will speak out like this.’”

[73:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “look, the generation of your sons I would have betrayed.” The phrase “generation of your [i.e., God’s] sons” occurs only here in the OT. Some equate the phrase with “generation 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 God’s “sons.” Perhaps the psalmist refers here to those who are “Israelites” in the true sense because of their loyalty to God (note the juxtaposition of “Israel” with “the pure in heart” in v. 1).

[5:8]  ⁸ tn Alternately, “oppression.” The term עֹשֶׁק (’osheq) has a basic two-fold range of meaning: (1) “oppression; brutality” (e.g., Isa 54:14); and (2) “extortion” (e.g., Ps 62:11); see HALOT 897 s.v. עֹשֶׁק; BDB 799 s.v. עֹשֶׁק. The LXX understands the term as “oppression,” as the translation συκοφαντίαν (sukofantian, “oppression”) indicates. Likewise, HALOT 897 s.v. עֹשֶׁק 1 classifies this usage as “oppression” against the poor. However, the context of 5:8-9 [7-8 HT] focuses on corrupt government officials robbing people of the fruit of their labor through extortion and the perversion of justice.

[5:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “robbery.” The noun גֵזֶל (gezel, “robbery”) refers to the wrestling away of righteousness or the perversion of justice (HALOT 186 s.v. גֵּזֶל). The related forms of the root גזל mean “to rob; to loot” (HALOT 186 s.v. גֵּזֶל). The term “robbery” is used as a figure for the perversion of justice (hypocatastasis): just as a thief robs his victims through physical violence, so corrupt government officials “rob” the poor through the perversion of justice.

[5:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in the province.”

[5:8]  ¹¹ tn The word “official” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:8]  ¹² sn And there are higher ones over them! This may describe a corrupt system of government in which each level of hierarchy exploits its subordinates, all the way down to the peasants: “Set in authority over the people is an official who enriches himself at their expense; he is watched by a more authoritative governor who also has his share of the spoils; and above them are other officers of the State who likewise have to be satisfied”; see A. Cohen, The Five Megilloth (SoBB), 141.

[1:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “[you] are too pure of eyes.” God’s “eyes” here signify what he looks at with approval. His “eyes” are “pure” in that he refuses to tolerate any wrongdoing in his presence.

[1:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “to see.” Here “see” is figurative for “tolerate,” “put up with.”

[1:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to look at.” Cf. NEB “who canst not countenance wrongdoing”; NASB “You can not look on wickedness with favor.”

[1:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Why do you look at treacherous ones?” The verb בָּגַד (bagad, “be treacherous”) is often used of those who are disloyal or who violate agreements. See S. Erlandsson, TDOT 1:470-73.

[1:13]  ¹⁷ tn Or “swallow up.”

[1:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “more innocent than themselves.”