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Psalm 73

1  Truly, God is loving to Israel, ♦︎
   to those who are pure in heart.
2  Nevertheless, my feet were almost gone; ♦︎
   my steps had well-nigh slipped.
3  For I was envious of the proud; ♦︎
   I saw the wicked in such prosperity;
4  For they suffer no pains ♦︎
   and their bodies are sleek and sound;
5  They come to no misfortune like other folk; ♦︎
   nor are they plagued as others are;
6  Therefore pride is their necklace ♦︎
   and violence wraps them like a cloak.
7  Their iniquity comes from within; ♦︎
   the conceits of their hearts overflow.
8  They scoff, and speak only of evil; ♦︎
   they talk of oppression from on high.
9  They set their mouth against the heavens, ♦︎
   and their tongue ranges round the earth;
10  And so the people turn to them ♦︎
   and find in them no fault.
11  They say, ‘How should God know? ♦︎
   Is there knowledge in the Most High?’
12  Behold, these are the wicked; ♦︎
   ever at ease, they increase their wealth.
13  Is it in vain that I cleansed my heart ♦︎
   and washed my hands in innocence?
14  All day long have I been stricken ♦︎
   and chastened every morning.
15  If I had said, ‘I will speak as they do,’ ♦︎
   I should have betrayed the generation of your children.
16  Then thought I to understand this, ♦︎
   but it was too hard for me,
17  Until I entered the sanctuary of God ♦︎
   and understood the end of the wicked:
18  How you set them in slippery places; ♦︎
   you cast them down to destruction.
19  How suddenly do they come to destruction, ♦︎
   perish and come to a fearful end!
20  As with a dream when one awakes, ♦︎
   so, Lord, when you arise you will despise their image.

11A false balance is an abomination to the Lord,
   but an accurate weight is his delight.
² When pride comes, then comes disgrace;
   but wisdom is with the humble.
³ The integrity of the upright guides them,
   but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.
⁴ Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
   but righteousness delivers from death.
⁵ The righteousness of the blameless keeps their ways straight,
   but the wicked fall by their own wickedness.
⁶ The righteousness of the upright saves them,
   but the treacherous are taken captive by their schemes.
⁷ When the wicked die, their hope perishes,
   and the expectation of the godless comes to nothing.
⁸ The righteous are delivered from trouble,
   and the wicked get into it instead.
⁹ With their mouths the godless would destroy their neighbours,
   but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.
¹⁰ When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices;
   and when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.
¹¹ By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
   but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
¹² Whoever belittles another lacks sense,
   but an intelligent person remains silent.
¹³ A gossip goes about telling secrets,
   but one who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a confidence.
¹⁴ Where there is no guidance, a nation^* falls,
   but in an abundance of counsellors there is safety.
¹⁵ To guarantee loans for a stranger brings trouble,
   but there is safety in refusing to do so.
¹⁶ A gracious woman gets honour,
   but she who hates virtue is covered with shame.^*
The timid become destitute,^*
   but the aggressive gain riches.
¹⁷ Those who are kind reward themselves,
   but the cruel do themselves harm.
¹⁸ The wicked earn no real gain,
   but those who sow righteousness get a true reward.
¹⁹ Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live,
   but whoever pursues evil will die.
²⁰ Crooked minds are an abomination to the Lord,
   but those of blameless ways are his delight.
²¹ Be assured, the wicked will not go unpunished,
   but those who are righteous will escape.
²² Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout
   is a beautiful woman without good sense.
²³ The desire of the righteous ends only in good;
   the expectation of the wicked in wrath.
²⁴ Some give freely, yet grow all the richer;
   others withhold what is due, and only suffer want.
²⁵ A generous person will be enriched,
   and one who gives water will get water.
²⁶ The people curse those who hold back grain,
   but a blessing is on the head of those who sell it.
²⁷ Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favour,
   but evil comes to the one who searches for it.
²⁸ Those who trust in their riches will wither,^*
   but the righteous will flourish like green leaves.
²⁹ Those who trouble their households will inherit wind,
   and the fool will be servant to the wise.
³⁰ The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
   but violence^* takes lives away.
³¹ If the righteous are repaid on earth,
   how much more the wicked and the sinner!

3 Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners,^* so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. ⁴In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children—
‘My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
   or lose heart when you are punished by him;
⁶ for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves,
   and chastises every child whom he accepts.’
⁷Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? ⁸If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children. ⁹Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness. ¹¹Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, ¹³and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.