Psalms 73:18

18 Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin.

Psalms 73:18 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
18 Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.
English Standard Version (ESV)
18 Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.
New Living Translation (NLT)
18 Truly, you put them on a slippery path and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.
The Message Bible (MSG)
18 The slippery road you've put them on, with a final crash in a ditch of delusions.
American Standard Version (ASV)
18 Surely thou settest them in slippery places: Thou castest them down to destruction.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
18 You put them in slippery places and make them fall into ruin.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
18 Indeed You put them in slippery places; You make them fall into ruin.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
18 God, I'm sure you will make them slip and fall. You will throw them down and destroy them.

Psalms 73:18 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 73:18

Surely thou didst set them in slippery places
In which a man cannot stand long, and without danger; and the higher they are the more dangerous, being slippery, and such are places of honour and riches. The phrase denotes the uncertainty and instability of these things, and the danger men are in who are possessed of them of falling into destruction and misery. The Targum is,

``thou didst set them in darkness;''

to be in slippery places, and in the dark, is very uncomfortable, unsafe, and dangerous indeed; See ( Psalms 35:6 ) ( Jeremiah 23:12 ) and it may be observed, that all this honour, promotion, and riches, are of God; it is he that sets them in these places of honour and profit; and he that sets them up can pull them down, as he does; so it follows,

thou castest them down into destruction:
into temporal destruction, by removing them from their high stations into a very low, mean, and contemptible state, as were Shebna and Nebuchadnezzar, ( Isaiah 22:15 Isaiah 22:19 ) ( Daniel 4:24 Daniel 4:25 ) and into everlasting destruction, from whence there is no recovery; see ( Psalms 55:23 ) .

Psalms 73:18 In-Context

16 When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply
17 till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.
18 Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin.
19 How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!
20 They are like a dream when one awakes; when you arise, Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.

Cross References 2

  • 1. S Deuteronomy 32:35; Psalms 35:6
  • 2. S Psalms 17:13
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