1 A Psalm of Asaph.
 

Certainly, God is good to Israel, To those (whose) mind is pure.

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2As for me, my feet nearly stumbled;
    my steps (almost) slipped, like nothing.
3For I envied the arrogant,
    I witnessed the peace of the wicked.
4For them, there is no pain in death;
    their bodies are fat.
5They (do not experience) the troubles of mankind;
    they are not afflicted along with (the rest of) humanity.
6Therefore, pride is their necklace, 
    and violence enshrouds them like clothing.
7Fat covers their eyes;
    and the conceit of their mind overflows.
8They ridicule and speak of evil,
    from their prominence they talk of oppression.
9They set their mouth against the heavens,
    and their tongue struts throughout the earth.
10Therefore, His people turn to them,
    and the waters of abundance are drained by them.
11Then they say, “How can God know?
    Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12These are the wicked;
    always prosperous, they accumulate wealth.

13Certainly it is in futility that I kept my mind clean,
and washed my hands in innocence.

14I was afflicted all day long,
and my punishment came every morning.
15If I had said, “I will speak of these things,”
then, I would have been unfaithful to this generation of Your people.
16When I tried to understand this,
it was sorrow before my eyes.  
17Until, I entered God’s sanctuary
and grasped their fate.

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18Certainly, You put them in slippery places, 
    You cause them to fall into ruin.
19How suddenly they are destroyed,
    they are completely consumed by terrors.
20Like a dream from which one awakes,
    when you awake, O Lord, You despise their image.
21When my mind was full of malice, 
    and my emotions were pierced,
22I was stupid and lacked knowledge; 
    I was like an animal toward you.
23Yet, I was always with You, 
    You hold my right hand;
24You guide me by Your wisdom,
    and afterward, you receive me with glory.
25Whom else have I in Heaven?
    and being with You, there is nothing else I desire on earth.
26My body and mind may waste away; 
    but God is the rock of my mind, and my portion forever.
27Those who are far from You perish;
    You annihilate all who are faithless to You.

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28As for me, nearness to God is good, I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
 that I may tell of all Your works.