Discovery BoxPsalms 73:4-5 
Context73:4 For they suffer no pain; 1
their bodies 2 are strong and well-fed. 3
73:5 They are immune to the trouble common to men;
they do not suffer as other men do. 4
Psalms 73:12
Context73:12 Take a good look! This is what the wicked are like, 5
those who always have it so easy and get richer and richer. 6
1 tn In Isa 58:6, the only other occurrence of this word in the OT, the term refers to “bonds” or “ropes.” In Ps 73:4 it is used metaphorically of pain and suffering that restricts one’s enjoyment of life.
2 tn Or “bellies.”
3 tc Or “fat.” The MT of v. 4 reads as follows: “for there are no pains at their death, and fat [is] their body.” Since a reference to the death of the wicked seems incongruous in the immediate context (note v. 5) and premature in the argument of the psalm (see vv. 18-20, 27), some prefer to emend the text by redividing it. The term לְמוֹתָם (lÿmotam,“at their death”) is changed to לָמוֹ תָּם (lamo tam, “[there are no pains] to them, strong [and fat are their bodies]”). The term תָּם (tam, “complete; sound”) is used of physical beauty in Song 5:2; 6:9. This emendation is the basis for the present translation. However, in defense of the MT (the traditional Hebrew text), one may point to an Aramaic inscription from Nerab which views a painful death as a curse and a nonpainful death in one’s old age as a sign of divine favor. See ANET 661.
4 tn Heb “in the trouble of man they are not, and with mankind they are not afflicted.”
5 tn Heb “Look, these [are] the wicked.”
6 tn Heb “the ones who are always at ease [who] increase wealth.”
