Psa 73:17-28 | NETfull | STEP | Then I entered the precincts of God’s temple, and understood the destiny of the wicked.

Psalms 73:17-28

17 Then I entered the precincts of God’s temple, ^{▼▼ The plural of the term מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash) probably refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 68:35; Jer 51:51).}
and understood the destiny of the wicked. ^{▼▼ 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.}
18 Surely ^{▼▼ 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.} you put them in slippery places;
you bring them down ^{▼▼ Heb “cause them to fall.”} to ruin.
19 How desolate they become in a mere moment!
Terrifying judgments make their demise complete! ^{▼▼ Heb “they come to an end, they are finished, from terrors.”}
20 They are like a dream after one wakes up. ^{▼▼ Heb “like a dream from awakening.” They lack any real substance; their prosperity will last for only a brief time.}
O Lord, when you awake ^{▼▼ When you awake. The psalmist compares God’s inactivity to sleep and the time of God’s judgment to his awakening from sleep.} you will despise them. ^{▼▼ Heb “you will despise their form.” The Hebrew term צֶלֶם (tselem, “form; image”) also suggests their short-lived nature. Rather than having real substance, they are like the mere images that populate one’s dreams. Note the similar use of the term in Ps 39:6.}
21 Yes, ^{▼▼ Or perhaps “when.”} my spirit was bitter, ^{▼▼ The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing attitude in a past time frame.}
and my insides felt sharp pain. ^{▼▼ Heb “and [in] my kidneys I was pierced.” The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing condition in a past time frame.}
22 I was ignorant ^{▼▼ Or “brutish, stupid.”} and lacked insight; ^{▼▼ Heb “and I was not knowing.”}
I was as senseless as an animal before you. ^{▼▼ Heb “an animal I was with you.”}
23 But I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide ^{▼▼ The imperfect verbal form here suggests this is the psalmist’s ongoing experience.} me by your wise advice,
and then you will lead me to a position of honor. ^{▼▼ Heb “and afterward [to] glory you will take me.” Some interpreters view this as the psalmist’s confidence in an afterlife in God’s presence and understand כָּבוֹד (cavod) as a metonymic reference to God’s presence in heaven. But this seems unlikely in the present context. The psalmist anticipates a time of vindication, when the wicked are destroyed and he is honored by God for his godly life style. The verb לָקַח (laqakh, “take”) here carries the nuance “lead, guide, conduct,” as in Num 23:14, 27–28; Josh 24:3 and Prov 24:11.}
25 Whom do I have in heaven but you?
I desire no one but you on earth. ^{▼▼ Heb “Who [is there] for me in heaven? And besides you I do not desire [anyone] in the earth.” The psalmist uses a merism (heaven/earth) to emphasize that God is the sole object of his desire and worship in the entire universe.}
26 My flesh and my heart may grow weak, ^{▼▼ The Hebrew verb כָלָה (khalah, “to fail; to grow weak”) does not refer here to physical death per se, but to the physical weakness that sometimes precedes death (see Job 33:21; Pss 71:9; 143:7; Prov 5:11).}
but God always ^{▼▼ Or “forever.”} protects my heart and gives me stability. ^{▼▼ Heb “is the rocky summit of my heart and my portion.” The psalmist compares the Lord to a rocky summit where one could go for protection and to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel.}
27 Yes, ^{▼▼ Or “for.”} look! Those far from you ^{▼▼ The following line defines the phrase far from you in a spiritual sense. Those “far” from God are those who are unfaithful and disloyal to him.} die;
you destroy everyone who is unfaithful to you. ^{▼▼ Heb “everyone who commits adultery from you.”}
But as for me, God’s presence is all I need. ^{▼▼ Heb “but as for me, the nearness of God for me [is] good.”}
I have made the sovereign Lord my shelter,
as ^{▼▼ The infinitive construct with -לְ (l^e) is understood here as indicating an attendant circumstance. Another option is to take it as indicating purpose (“so that I might declare”) or result (“with the result that I declare”).} I declare all the things you have done.

Psalm 74

^{▼▼ Psalm 74. The psalmist, who has just experienced the devastation of the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 b.c., asks God to consider Israel’s sufferings and intervene on behalf of his people. He describes the ruined temple, recalls God’s mighty deeds in the past, begs for mercy, and calls for judgment upon God’s enemies.}

A well-written song by Asaph.

28 ^{▼▼ The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52–55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.}