Psa 73:18-20 | NETfull | STEP | Surely you put them in slippery places; you bring them down to ruin.

Psalms 73:18-20

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.}