73:7 Their prosperity causes them to do wrong; 1
their thoughts are sinful. 2
73:12 Take a good look! This is what the wicked are like, 3
those who always have it so easy and get richer and richer. 4
73:13 I concluded, 5 “Surely in vain I have kept my motives 6 pure
and maintained a pure lifestyle. 7
73:14 I suffer all day long,
and am punished every morning.”
73:15 If I had publicized these thoughts, 8
I would have betrayed your loyal followers. 9
73:16 When I tried to make sense of this,
it was troubling to me. 10
73:17 Then I entered the precincts of God’s temple, 11
and understood the destiny of the wicked. 12
73:18 Surely 13 you put them in slippery places;
you bring them down 14 to ruin.
73:19 How desolate they become in a mere moment!
Terrifying judgments make their demise complete! 15
1 tc The MT reads “it goes out from fatness their eye,” which might be paraphrased, “their eye protrudes [or “bulges”] because of fatness.” This in turn might refer to their greed; their eyes “bug out” when they see rich food or produce (the noun חֵלֶב [khelev, “fatness”] sometimes refers to such food or produce). However, when used with the verb יָצָא (yatsa’, “go out”) the preposition מִן (“from”) more naturally indicates source. For this reason it is preferable to emend עֵינֵמוֹ (’enemo, “their eye”) to עֲוֹנָמוֹ, (’avonamo, “their sin”) and read, “and their sin proceeds forth from fatness,” that is, their prosperity gives rise to their sinful attitudes. If one follows this textual reading, another interpretive option is to take חֵלֶב (“fatness”) in the sense of “unreceptive, insensitive” (see its use in Ps 17:10). In this case, the sin of the wicked proceeds forth from their spiritual insensitivity.
2 tn Heb “the thoughts of [their] heart [i.e., mind] cross over” (i.e., violate God’s moral boundary, see Ps 17:3).
3 tn Heb “Look, these [are] the wicked.”
4 tn Heb “the ones who are always at ease [who] increase wealth.”
5 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.
6 tn Heb “heart,” viewed here as the seat of one’s thoughts and motives.
7 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.
8 tn Heb “If I had said, ‘I will speak out like this.’”
9 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).
10 tn Heb “and [when] I pondered to understand this, troubling it [was] in my eyes.”
11 tn The plural of the term מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash) probably refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 68:35; Jer 51:51).
12 tn Heb “I discerned their end.” At the temple the psalmist perhaps received an oracle of deliverance announcing his vindication and the demise of the wicked (see Ps 12) or heard songs of confidence (for example, Ps 11), wisdom psalms (for example, Pss 1, 37), and hymns (for example, Ps 112) that describe the eventual downfall of the proud and wealthy.
13 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.
14 tn Heb “cause them to fall.”
15 tn Heb “they come to an end, they are finished, from terrors.”