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Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.
Psalms 73:18 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Surely you set them in slippery places. You throw them down to destruction.
  • BSB Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin.
  • ESV Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.
  • NKJV Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction.
  • NASB You indeed put them on slippery ground; You dropped them into ruin.
  • NLT Truly, you put them on a slippery path and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Asaph now sees that God sets the wicked on slippery places and casts them down to ruin.

Overview

The very prosperity that seemed so secure is revealed as treacherous footing. God himself appoints their sudden fall. This reverses Asaph's earlier complaint; it is the wicked, not the faithful, whose feet truly slip, and their ease is the prelude to judgment.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • Jer 23:12Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD.
  • Ps 35:6Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the LORD persecute them.
  • Deut 32:35To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
  • Ps 55:23But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
  • Ps 94:23And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the LORD our God shall cut them off.
  • 2 Th 1:9Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
  • Ps 37:35–38I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
  • Ps 92:7When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:
  • Ps 37:20But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
  • Ps 37:24Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (9)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 73:18YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.

How Psalms 73:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.