Psalms · 28 verses

Psalms 73

Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.

The chapter

What happens here

Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.

Somewhere in this psalm, the wicked’s people return to an unnamed place and drink waters in abundance; the sentence carries on as if everyone knows the map.

The prosperous wickedvv. 1–12

Asaph begins with God’s goodness, then admits that his feet nearly gave way when he saw the prosperity of the wicked. Their ease appears almost offensively complete: no burdens, no affliction, well-fed bodies, pride worn as jewellery, violence thrown over them like a garment. Their tongues strut across the earth, their mouths reach toward heaven, and—most mysteriously—their people return to some unintroduced place to drink waters in abundance. The wicked themselves ask whether the Most High knows anything at all.

The sanctuary and the endvv. 13–20

Asaph then counts his own purity as wasted effort: he has kept his heart pure, yet remains afflicted each day and punished each morning. He nearly speaks this bitterness aloud, but stops lest he betray God’s children. The matter troubles him until he enters God’s sanctuary, where the apparent ease of the wicked gives way to their end: slick ground, ruin, sudden terror, and a waking God before whom their form is despised like the remains of a dream.

A hand held fastvv. 21–28

After the turning point, Asaph looks back at his grief and gives himself no flattering portrait: he was senseless, ignorant, and a brute beast before God. Yet the confession is followed by nearness rather than departure. God holds his right hand, guides him with counsel, and is named as the strength of his heart and his portion forever. The psalm ends with distance bringing ruin, nearness becoming good, and Asaph making the Lord his refuge so that he may proclaim all God’s works.

The text

Read it

Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.

Ps 73:1A Psalm of Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
Ps 73:2But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.
Ps 73:3For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
Ps 73:4They have no struggle in their death; their bodies are well-fed.
Ps 73:5They are free of the burdens others carry; they are not afflicted like other men.
Ps 73:6Therefore pride is their necklace; a garment of violence covers them.
Ps 73:7From their prosperity proceeds iniquity; the imaginations of their hearts run wild.
Ps 73:8They mock and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.
Ps 73:9They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongues strut across the earth.
Ps 73:10So their people return to this place and drink up waters in abundance.
Ps 73:11The wicked say, “How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?”
Ps 73:12Behold, these are the wicked—always carefree as they increase their wealth.
Ps 73:13Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure; in innocence I have washed my hands.
Ps 73:14For I am afflicted all day long and punished every morning.
Ps 73:15If I had said, “I will speak this way,” then I would have betrayed Your children.
Ps 73:16When I tried to understand all this, it was troublesome in my sight
Ps 73:17until I entered God’s sanctuary; then I discerned their end.
Ps 73:18Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin.
Ps 73:19How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors!
Ps 73:20Like one waking from a dream, so You, O Lord, awaken and despise their form.
Ps 73:21When my heart was grieved and I was pierced within,
Ps 73:22I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You.
Ps 73:23Yet I am always with You; You hold my right hand.
Ps 73:24You guide me with Your counsel, and later receive me in glory.
Ps 73:25Whom have I in heaven but You? And on earth I desire no one besides You.
Ps 73:26My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Ps 73:27Those far from You will surely perish; You destroy all who are unfaithful to You.
Ps 73:28But as for me, it is good to draw near to God. I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may proclaim all Your works.

01 — Also here

Who else the chapter reaches

Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.

Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.

02 — Read alongside

Where this is echoed

Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 341 passages were voted onto 28 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.

26 2 Corinthians 12:9–10But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.
26 Isaiah 40:29–31He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.
26 Psalms 138:3On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.
26 Psalms 18:2The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
25 Philippians 3:8More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
26 2 Corinthians 4:8–10We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
23 Isaiah 41:13For I am the LORD your God, who takes hold of your right hand and tells you: Do not fear, I will help you.
24 Psalms 32:8I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will give you counsel and watch over you.
26 2 Corinthians 4:16–18Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
24 Isaiah 58:11The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
1 Matthew 5:8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
24 Proverbs 3:5–6Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
23 Psalms 63:8My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.
25 Psalms 16:2I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.”
28 James 4:8Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
23 Matthew 28:20and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Onward

Keep reading

Next chapterPsalms 7423 verses.Named hereAsaphEverything the graph connects to this name.BookPsalmsAll 150 chapters.Every bookThe Bible66 books, 1,189 chapters.