Psalms 73:18-20

73:18 Surely ¹  you put them in slippery places;

you bring them down ²  to ruin.

73:19 How desolate they become in a mere moment!

Terrifying judgments make their demise complete! ³ 

73:20 They are like a dream after one wakes up. ⁴ 

O Lord, when you awake ⁵  you will despise them. ⁶ 

Psalms 73:1

Book 3
(Psalms 73-89)

Psalm 73 ⁷ 

A psalm by Asaph.

73:1 Certainly God is good to Israel, ⁸ 

and to those whose motives are pure! ⁹ 

Psalms 26:10

26:10 who are always ready to do wrong ¹⁰ 

or offer a bribe. ¹¹ 

[73:18]  ¹ tn The use of the Hebrew term אַךְ (’akh, “surely”) here literarily counteracts its use in v. 13. The repetition draws attention to the contrast between the two statements, the first of which expresses the psalmist’s earlier despair and the second his newly discovered confidence.

[73:18]  ² tn Heb “cause them to fall.”

[73:19]  ³ tn Heb “they come to an end, they are finished, from terrors.”

[73:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “like a dream from awakening.” They lack any real substance; their prosperity will last for only a brief time.

[73:20]  ⁵ sn When you awake. The psalmist compares God’s inactivity to sleep and the time of God’s judgment to his awakening from sleep.

[73:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “you will despise their form.” The Hebrew term צֶלֶם (tselem, “form; image”) also suggests their short-lived nature. Rather than having real substance, they are like the mere images that populate one’s dreams. Note the similar use of the term in Ps 39:6.

[73:1]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “to the pure of heart.”

[26:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “who [have] in their hands evil.”

[26:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and their right hand is full of a bribe.”