Mazmur 73:2-5

73:2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped;

my feet almost slid out from under me. ¹ 

73:3 For I envied those who are proud,

as I observed ²  the prosperity ³  of the wicked.

73:4 For they suffer no pain; ⁴ 

their bodies ⁵  are strong and well-fed. ⁶ 

73:5 They are immune to the trouble common to men;

they do not suffer as other men do. ⁷ 

[73:2]  ¹ tn The Hebrew verb normally means “to pour out,” but here it must have the nuance “to slide.”

[73:2]  sn My feet almost slid out from under me. The language is metaphorical. As the following context makes clear, the psalmist almost “slipped” in a spiritual sense. As he began to question God’s justice, the psalmist came close to abandoning his faith.

[73:3]  ² tn The imperfect verbal form here depicts the action as continuing in a past time frame.

[73:3]  ³ tn Heb “peace” (שָׁלוֹם, shalom).

[73:4]  ⁴ tn In Isa 58:6, the only other occurrence of this word in the OT, the term refers to “bonds” or “ropes.” In Ps 73:4 it is used metaphorically of pain and suffering that restricts one’s enjoyment of life.

[73:4]  ⁵ tn Or “bellies.”

[73:4]  ⁶ tc Or “fat.” The MT of v. 4 reads as follows: “for there are no pains at their death, and fat [is] their body.” Since a reference to the death of the wicked seems incongruous in the immediate context (note v. 5) and premature in the argument of the psalm (see vv. 18-20, 27), some prefer to emend the text by redividing it. The term לְמוֹתָם (lÿmotam,“at their death”) is changed to לָמוֹ תָּם (lamo tam, “[there are no pains] to them, strong [and fat are their bodies]”). The term תָּם (tam, “complete; sound”) is used of physical beauty in Song 5:2; 6:9. This emendation is the basis for the present translation. However, in defense of the MT (the traditional Hebrew text), one may point to an Aramaic inscription from Nerab which views a painful death as a curse and a nonpainful death in one’s old age as a sign of divine favor. See ANET 661.

[73:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “in the trouble of man they are not, and with mankind they are not afflicted.”