LXXIII. Book III. The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous. 1909-14. The Book of Psalms. The Harvard Classics

Nonfiction > The Bible > Harvard Classics > The Book of Psalms

CONTENTS · BOOK CONTENTS · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

The Book of Psalms.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14.

Book III

LXXIII

The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous

A Psalm of Asaph.


[1]	SURELY 1 God is good to Israel, Even to such as are pure in heart.
[2]	But as for me, my feet were almost gone; My steps had well nigh slipped.
[3]	For I was envious at the arrogant, 2 When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
[4]	For there are no pangs in their death; But their strength is firm.
[5]	They are not in 3 trouble as other men; Neither are they plagued like other men.
[6]	Therefore pride is as a chain about their neck; Violence covereth them as a garment.
[7]	Their eyes stand out with fatness: They 4 have more than heart could wish.
[8]	They scoff, and in wickedness utter oppression: They speak loftily. 5
[9]	They have set their mouth in 6 the heavens, And their tongue walketh through the earth.
[10]	Therefore his 7 people return hither: And waters of a full cup are drained by them.
[11]	And they say, How doth God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?
[12]	Behold, these are the wicked; And, being alway at ease, they increase in riches.
[13]	Surely in vain have I cleansed my heart, And washed my hands in innocency;
[14]	For all the day long have I been plagued, And chastened 8 every morning.
[15]	If I had said, I will speak thus; Behold, I had dealt treacherously with the generation of thy children.
[16]	When I thought how I might know this, It was too 9 painful for me;
[17]	Until I went into the sanctuary of God, And considered their latter end.
[18]	Surely thou settest them in slippery places: Thou castest them down to destruction. 10
[19]	How are they become a desolation in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors.
[20]	As a dream when one awaketh, So, O Lord, when 11 thou awakest, thou wilt despise their image.
[21]	For my soul was 12 grieved, And I was pricked in my heart: 13
[22]	So brutish was 14 I, and ignorant; I was as a beast before 15 thee.
[23]	Nevertheless I am continually with thee: Thou hast holden my right hand.
[24]	Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel, And afterward receive me to 16 glory.
[25]	Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides 17 thee.
[26]	My flesh and my heart faileth; But God is the strength 18 of my heart and my portion for ever.
[27]	For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: Thou hast destroyed all them that play the harlot, departing from thee.
[28]	But it is good for me to draw near unto God: I have made the Lord Jehovah my refuge, That I may tell of all thy works.

Note 1. Or, Only good is God. [back]

Note 2. Or, fools. [back]

Note 3. Heb. in the trouble of men. [back]

Note 4. Or, The imaginations of their heart overflow. [back]

Note 5. Or, from on high. [back]

Note 6. Or, against. [back]

Note 7. Another reading is, he will bring back his people. [back]

Note 8. Heb. my chastisement was. [back]

Note 9. Heb. labor in mine eyes. [back]

Note 10. Heb. ruins. [back]

Note 11. Or, in the city. [back]

Note 12. Heb. was in a ferment. [back]

Note 13. Heb. reins. [back]

Note 14. Or, am. [back]

Note 15. Heb. with thee. [back]

Note 16. Or, with. [back]

Note 17. Or, with thee. [back]

Note 18. Heb. rock. [back]

CONTENTS · BOOK CONTENTS · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

Click here to shop the Bartleby Bookstore.

Shakespeare · Bible · Saints · Anatomy · Harvard Classics · Lit. History · Quotations · Poetry