| 1. | Surely God is good to Israel, `Even' to such as are pure in heart. |
| 2. | But as for me, my feet were almost gone; My steps had well nigh slipped. |
| 3. | For I was envious at the arrogant, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. |
| 4. | For there are no pangs in their death; But their strength is firm. |
| 5. | They are not in trouble as `other' men; Neither are they plagued like `other' men. |
| 6. | Therefore pride is as a chain about their neck; Violence covereth them as a garment. |
| 7. | Their eyes stand out with fatness: They have more than heart could wish. |
| 8. | They scoff, and in wickedness utter oppression: They speak loftily. |
| 9. | They have set their mouth in the heavens, And their tongue walketh through the earth. |
| 10. | Therefore his people return hither: And waters of a full `cup' are drained by them. |
| 11. | And they say, How doth God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High? |
| 12. | Behold, these are the wicked; And, being alway at ease, they increase in riches. |
| 13. | Surely in vain have I cleansed my heart, And washed my hands in innocency; |
| 14. | For all the day long have I been plagued, And chastened every morning. |
| 15. | If I had said, I will speak thus; Behold, I had dealt treacherously with the generation of thy children. |
| 16. | When I thought how I might know this, It was too painful for me; |
| 17. | Until I went into the sanctuary of God, And considered their latter end. |
| 18. | Surely thou settest them in slippery places: Thou castest them down to destruction. |
| 19. | How are they become a desolation in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. |
| 20. | As a dream when one awaketh, So, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou wilt despise their image. |
| 21. | For my soul was grieved, And I was pricked in my heart: |
| 22. | So brutish was I, and ignorant; I was `as' a beast before thee. |
| 23. | Nevertheless I am continually with thee: Thou hast holden my right hand. |
| 24. | Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel, And afterward receive me to glory. |
| 25. | Whom have I in heaven `but thee'? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee. |
| 26. | My flesh and my heart faileth; `But' God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever. |
| 27. | For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: Thou hast destroyed all them that play the harlot, `departing' from thee. |
| 28. | But it is good for me to draw near unto God: I have made the Lord Jehovah my refuge, That I may tell of all thy works. Psalm 74 Maschil of Asaph. |