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Psalm 73:4

For there are no struggles in their death, but their strength is firm.

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.
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← Psalm 73:3Psalm 73:5 →
Notice

The wicked seem strong even at death, a sight that can unsettle your sense that a person's conduct should shape how life ends.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What feels most troubling about the writer's picture of strength that lasts even into death?

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How does the envy confessed in verse 3 affect your reading of this claim about death?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

8 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Luke 16:22The beggar died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.Both passages speak of death, but Luke names the deaths of both a beggar and a rich man.
Ecclesiastes 2:16For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no memory forever, since in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. Indeed, the wise man must …Both passages face death, though Ecclesiastes stresses its reach across wisdom and folly rather than the ease of dying.
Job 21:23–24One dies in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet.Both describe someone reaching death with strength intact, without the struggles that might be expected at life's end.
Ecclesiastes 7:15All this I have seen in my days of vanity: there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives long in his …Both describe wicked people whose lives fail to show the suffering a reader might expect their conduct to bring.
Psalm 17:14from men by your hand, LORD, from men of the world, whose portion is in this life. You fill the belly of your cherished ones. Your sons have plenty, and they …Both describe bodily well-being: Psalm 73 names firm strength, while Psalm 17 speaks of full bellies and ample provision.
Job 24:20The womb will forget him. The worm will feed sweetly on him. He will be no more remembered. Unrighteousness will be broken as a tree.Both concern the death of the wicked, though Job emphasizes decay and being forgotten where the psalm describes an untroubled end.
Psalm 17:10They close up their callous hearts. With their mouth they speak proudly.Psalm 73 describes people whose pride appears in the surrounding verses; Psalm 17 names proud speech and callous hearts.
Job 21:13They spend their days in prosperity. In an instant they go down to Sheol.Both describe the wicked reaching death after apparent ease, with Job naming prosperous days and a sudden descent to Sheol.
Where this verse fits

Envy and comparison. injustice and anger. doubt.

What the Bible says about anger →What the Bible says about doubt →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Read verses 2–6 and write what makes the wicked enviable

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Encouragement

The writer admits envying people who seem strong even at death. Their ease is a source of distress here, with no claim that God approves their conduct.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 73:4. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 73 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

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).