Font Size
Psalm 72-73
English Standard Version
Psalm 72-73
English Standard Version
Give the King Your Justice
Of (A)Solomon.
72 Give the king your (B)justice, O God,
and your righteousness to the royal son!
2 May he (C)judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice!
3 Let the mountains bear (D)prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness!
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor!
5 May they fear you[a] while (E)the sun endures,
and as long as the moon, (F)throughout all generations!
6 May he be like (G)rain that falls on (H)the mown grass,
like (I)showers that water the earth!
7 In his days may (J)the righteous flourish,
and (K)peace abound, till the moon be no more!
8 May he have dominion from (L)sea to sea,
and from (M)the River[b] to the (N)ends of the earth!
9 May desert tribes (O)bow down before him,
and his enemies (P)lick the dust!
10 May the kings of (Q)Tarshish and of (R)the coastlands
render him (S)tribute;
may the kings of (T)Sheba and (U)Seba
bring gifts!
11 May all kings (V)fall down before him,
all nations serve him!
12 For he delivers (W)the needy when he calls,
the poor and him who has no helper.
13 He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
and (X)precious is their blood in his sight.
15 Long may he live;
may (Y)gold of Sheba be given to him!
May prayer be made (Z)for him continually,
and blessings invoked for him all the day!
16 May there be abundance of grain in the land;
on the tops of the mountains may it wave;
may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people (AA)blossom in the cities
like the (AB)grass of the field!
17 (AC)May his name endure forever,
his fame continue as long as the sun!
(AD)May people be blessed in him,
(AE)all nations call him blessed!
18 (AF)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone does (AG)wondrous things.
19 Blessed be his (AH)glorious name forever;
may (AI)the whole earth be filled with his glory!
(AJ)Amen and Amen!
Book Three
God Is My Strength and Portion Forever
A Psalm of (AM)Asaph.
73 Truly God is good to (AN)Israel,
to those who are (AO)pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
3 (AP)For I was (AQ)envious of the arrogant
when I saw the (AR)prosperity of the wicked.
4 For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not (AS)stricken like the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore pride is (AT)their necklace;
violence covers them as (AU)a garment.
7 Their (AV)eyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and (AW)speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
10 Therefore his people turn back to them,
and find (AX)no fault in them.[c]
11 And they say, (AY)“How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they (AZ)increase in riches.
13 All in vain have I (BA)kept my heart clean
and (BB)washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all the day long I have been (BC)stricken
and (BD)rebuked (BE)every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have betrayed (BF)the generation of your children.
16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me (BG)a wearisome task,
17 until I went into (BH)the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their (BI)end.
18 Truly you set them in (BJ)slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed (BK)in a moment,
swept away utterly by (BL)terrors!
20 Like (BM)a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when (BN)you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was (BO)brutish and ignorant;
I was like (BP)a beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you (BQ)hold my right hand.
24 You (BR)guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will (BS)receive me to glory.
25 (BT)Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 (BU)My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is (BV)the strength[d] of my heart and my (BW)portion (BX)forever.
27 For behold, those who are (BY)far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is (BZ)unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to (CA)be near God;
I have made the Lord God my (CB)refuge,
that I may (CC)tell of all your works.
Footnotes
- Psalm 72:5 Septuagint He shall endure
- Psalm 72:8 That is, the Euphrates
- Psalm 73:10 Probable reading; Hebrew the waters of a full cup are drained by them
- Psalm 73:26 Hebrew rock
Psalm 72-73
New International Version
Psalm 72-73
New International Version
Psalm 72
Of Solomon.
1 Endow the king with your justice,(A) O God,
the royal son with your righteousness.
2 May he judge your people in righteousness,(B)
your afflicted ones with justice.
3 May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,
the hills the fruit of righteousness.
4 May he defend the afflicted(C) among the people
and save the children of the needy;(D)
may he crush the oppressor.(E)
5 May he endure[a](F) as long as the sun,
as long as the moon, through all generations.(G)
6 May he be like rain(H) falling on a mown field,
like showers watering the earth.
7 In his days may the righteous flourish(I)
and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.
8 May he rule from sea to sea
and from the River[b](J) to the ends of the earth.(K)
9 May the desert tribes bow before him
and his enemies lick the dust.
10 May the kings of Tarshish(L) and of distant shores(M)
bring tribute to him.
May the kings of Sheba(N) and Seba
present him gifts.(O)
11 May all kings bow down(P) to him
and all nations serve(Q) him.
12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
the afflicted who have no one to help.
13 He will take pity(R) on the weak and the needy
and save the needy from death.
14 He will rescue(S) them from oppression and violence,
for precious(T) is their blood in his sight.
15 Long may he live!
May gold from Sheba(U) be given him.
May people ever pray for him
and bless him all day long.(V)
16 May grain(W) abound throughout the land;
on the tops of the hills may it sway.
May the crops(X) flourish like Lebanon(Y)
and thrive[c] like the grass of the field.(Z)
17 May his name endure forever;(AA)
may it continue as long as the sun.(AB)
18 Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,(AD)
who alone does marvelous deeds.(AE)
19 Praise be to his glorious name(AF) forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.(AG)
Amen and Amen.(AH)
20 This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.(AI)
BOOK III
Psalms 73–89
Psalm 73
A psalm of Asaph.
1 Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.(AJ)
2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;(AK)
I had nearly lost my foothold.(AL)
3 For I envied(AM) the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.(AN)
4 They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong.[e]
5 They are free(AO) from common human burdens;
they are not plagued by human ills.
6 Therefore pride(AP) is their necklace;(AQ)
they clothe themselves with violence.(AR)
7 From their callous hearts(AS) comes iniquity[f];
their evil imaginations have no limits.
8 They scoff, and speak with malice;(AT)
with arrogance(AU) they threaten oppression.(AV)
9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.
10 Therefore their people turn to them
and drink up waters in abundance.[g]
11 They say, “How would God know?
Does the Most High know anything?”
13 Surely in vain(AY) I have kept my heart pure
and have washed my hands in innocence.(AZ)
14 All day long I have been afflicted,(BA)
and every morning brings new punishments.
15 If I had spoken out like that,
I would have betrayed your children.
16 When I tried to understand(BB) all this,
it troubled me deeply
17 till I entered the sanctuary(BC) of God;
then I understood their final destiny.(BD)
18 Surely you place them on slippery ground;(BE)
you cast them down to ruin.(BF)
19 How suddenly(BG) are they destroyed,
completely swept away(BH) by terrors!
20 They are like a dream(BI) when one awakes;(BJ)
when you arise, Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.(BK)
21 When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
22 I was senseless(BL) and ignorant;
I was a brute beast(BM) before you.
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.(BN)
24 You guide(BO) me with your counsel,(BP)
and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?(BQ)
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.(BR)
26 My flesh and my heart(BS) may fail,(BT)
but God is the strength(BU) of my heart
and my portion(BV) forever.
Footnotes
- Psalm 72:5 Septuagint; Hebrew You will be feared
- Psalm 72:8 That is, the Euphrates
- Psalm 72:16 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text Lebanon, / from the city
- Psalm 72:17 Or will use his name in blessings (see Gen. 48:20)
- Psalm 73:4 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text struggles at their death; / their bodies are healthy
- Psalm 73:7 Syriac (see also Septuagint); Hebrew Their eyes bulge with fat
- Psalm 73:10 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.