The Psalms

[A Psalm of Asaph.] Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart!

But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling; My steps had almost slipped.

For I was envious of the arrogant, [As] I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

For there are no pains in their death; And their body is fat.

They are not in trouble [as other] men; Nor are they plagued like mankind.

Therefore pride is their necklace; The garment of violence covers them.

Their eye bulges from fatness; The imaginations of [their] heart run riot.

They mock, and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak from on high.

They have set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue parades through the earth.

Therefore his people return to this place; And waters of abundance are drunk by them.

And they say, "How does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High?"

Behold, these are the wicked; And always at ease, they have increased [in] wealth.

Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure, And washed my hands in innocence;

For I have been stricken all day long, And chastened every morning.

If I had said, "I will speak thus," Behold, I should have betrayed the generation of Thy children.

When I pondered to understand this, It was troublesome in my sight

Until I came into the sanctuary of God; [Then] I perceived their end.

Surely Thou dost set them in slippery places; Thou dost cast them down to destruction.

How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!

Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, Thou wilt despise their form.

When my heart was embittered, And I was pierced within,

Then I was senseless and ignorant; I was [like] a beast before Thee.