Skip to main content
Psalmlog Logo

Psalm 73

Psalm 73 moves from envy of the wicked’s prosperity to confidence in God’s judgment and the worth of his presence.

Arrogant people prosper while the psalmist suffers day after day. Attributed to Asaph, this psalm recounts how envy brought him close to losing his footing and made him question whether keeping his heart clean had been worth anything. Entering God’s sanctuary changes his view of the wicked’s future. He turns to God, confessing his ignorance and recognizing the hand that has held him. The psalm ends with God as his lasting portion and refuge.

envy and comparisondoubtinjustice and anger
Read
1A Psalm by Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
2But as for me, my feet were almost gone. My steps had nearly slipped.
3For I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4For there are no struggles in their death, but their strength is firm.
5They are free from burdens of men, neither are they plagued like other men.
6Therefore pride is like a chain around their neck. Violence covers them like a garment.
7Their eyes bulge with fat. Their minds pass the limits of conceit.
8They scoff and speak with malice. In arrogance, they threaten oppression.
9They have set their mouth in the heavens. Their tongue walks through the earth.
10Therefore their people return to them, and they drink up waters of abundance.
11They say, “How does God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12Behold, these are the wicked. Being always at ease, they increase in riches.
13Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence,
14For all day long I have been plagued, and punished every morning.
15If I had said, “I will speak thus”, behold, I would have betrayed the generation of your children.
16When I tried to understand this, it was too painful for me—
17until I entered God’s sanctuary, and considered their latter end.
18Surely you set them in slippery places. You throw them down to destruction.
19How they are suddenly destroyed! They are completely swept away with terrors.
20As a dream when one wakes up, so, Lord, when you awake, you will despise their fantasies.
21For my soul was grieved. I was embittered in my heart.
22I was so senseless and ignorant. I was a brute beast before you.
23Nevertheless, I am continually with you. You have held my right hand.
24You will guide me with your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
25Whom do I have in heaven? There is no one on earth whom I desire besides you.
26My flesh and my heart fails, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27For, behold, those who are far from you shall perish. You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to you.
28But it is good for me to come close to God. I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected. Tap a number for its page.
Key verses
Psalm 73:24God’s counsel and promised welcome give Asaph grounds for trust beyond the prosperity he once envied.
Psalm 73:26The possibility of bodily and inward failure remains, while God himself is Asaph’s enduring strength and portion.
Psalm 73:25Asaph’s desire centers on God, marking a change from his earlier longing for the ease of the wicked.
Where this chapter reaches

Job shares the struggle over the prosperity of the wicked, while Proverbs shares the warning that their apparent security ends in ruin. The contrast between failing flesh and enduring hope also connects with 2 Corinthians, where bodily decline accompanies inward renewal.

Psalm 73's chapter linksAll strongest linksHover or tap a book
Notice

After reading the whole chapter

Which part of Asaph’s account comes closest to questions you have about prosperity and faithfulness?

Write on this

How does Asaph’s view of what is good change between the opening and closing verses?

Write on this

Questions people ask about Psalm 73

Why does entering God’s sanctuary change Asaph’s perspective in Psalm 73?

Verse 17 links entering God’s sanctuary with considering the wicked’s latter end. Their present wealth had dominated Asaph’s view; now he sees their exposure to God’s judgment. The psalm does not describe a particular ceremony or message there. It records a change in understanding, with no report that Asaph’s suffering ended.

What does it mean that God is Asaph’s portion in Psalm 73:26?

A portion is a share or possession allotted to someone. Calling God his portion expresses Asaph’s conviction that God himself is his enduring good. The surrounding verses contrast failing flesh and heart with God’s strength, and the wealth Asaph envied with his desire for God above everything on earth.

Read it. Now write it.

Start an entry on Psalm 73. Your words go beside the text, and you get one next step for the week.

Psalms · 150 chapters
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140141142143144145146147148149150
What the Bible says about doubt →What the Bible says about anger →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).