Psalms 73:5
in Psalms 73They are free of the burdens others carry; they are not afflicted like other men.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They are not in trouble as other men; Neither are they plagued like other men.
KJV
They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 73
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThey are not in trouble as other men. The prosperous wicked escape the killing toils which afflict the mass of mankind; their bread comes to them without care, their wine without stint. They have no need to enquire, "Whence shall we get bread for our children, or raiment for our little ones?" Ordinary domestic and personal troubles do not appear to molest them. Neither are they plagued like other men. Fierce trials do not arise to assail them: they smart not under the divine rod. While many saints are both poor and afflicted, the prosperous sinner is neither.
This site's exposition
no struggle in their death
on Psalms 73:4-6
The ease of the wicked is described from outside: no pangs at death, a well-fed body, none of the burdens other men carry. Pride is worn where a necklace is worn, and violence is worn as clothing. Both are on the outside for anyone to see.
This site's exposition
They are free of the burdens others carry
Barnes gave the line as in the burdens of man they are not, free of what other men carry. Gill took the burdens as the labor for bread that the afflicted must carry and these men escape. He compared Job 21:9.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"In the labours of men they are not, and with men they shall not be scourged" [Psalm 73:5]. Does not even the devil himself escape scourging with men, for whom nevertheless an eternal punishment is being prepared?
Perhaps someone may say, Why did God cause Pharaoh to be hardened by sparing him, and why did he remove his scourges? At this point I reply with assurance: God removed his scourges so often because by the immense number of his sins Pharaoh did …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
They are not in trouble, as other men,.... Either of body or of mind, as the saints are, who through many tribulations enter the kingdom; or are not in "labour" (h), do not labour for food and raiment, or get their bread by the sweat of their brow, as poor men do; nor are weary, so Arama: "neither are they plagued like other men"; smitten of God, corrected, and chastised by him, as his children are; the rod of God is not upon them, Job 21:9. (h) בעמל "in labore", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus, Junius & Tremellius, Gejerus.
If they meet with some little trouble, it is nothing to what others endure that are less sinners and yet greater sufferers. [2.] They seem to have the greatest share of the comforts of this life.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The prosperous wicked are insolently proud (compare Ps 5:5). They die, as well as live, free from perplexities: pride adorns them, and violence is their clothing; indeed they are inflated with unexpected success.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
They are not in trouble as other men. The prosperous wicked escape the killing toils which afflict the mass of mankind; their bread comes to them without care, their wine without stint. They have no need to enquire, "Whence shall we get bread for our children, or raiment for our little ones?" Ordinary domestic and personal troubles do not appear to molest them. Neither are they plagued like other men. Fierce trials do not arise to assail them: they smart not under the divine rod. While many saints are both poor and afflicted, the prosperous sinner is neither. He is worse than other men, and yet he is better off; he ploughs least, and yet has the most fodder. He deserves the hottest hell, and yet has the warmest nest. All this is clear to the eyes of faith, which unriddles the riddle; but to the bleared eye of sense it seems an enigma indeed. They are to have nothing hereafter, let them have what they can here; they, after all, only possess what is of secondary value, and their possessing it is meant to teach us to set little store by transient things. If earthly good were of much value, the Lord would not give so large a measure of it to those who have least of his love.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
They are not in trouble as other men - Margin, “In the trouble of other men.” Literally, “In the labor of man they are not;” that is, they are exempt from the common burdens and troubles of humanity, or those which pertain to man as man. There seems to be some special interposition in their favor to save them from the common calamities which come upon the race. Neither are they plagued like other men - Margin, “with.” Literally, “And with mankind they are not afflicted,” or smitten. The calamities which come so thickly and heavily on the race do not seem to come upon them. They are favored, prospered, happy, while others are afflicted.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בַּעֲמַ֣ל | baamal | [are] in [the] trouble of | H5999 → | 55 times |
| אֱנ֣וֹשׁ | ʾenoosh | humankind | H582 → | 566 times |
| אֵינֵ֑מוֹ | ʾeinemov | not they | H369 → | 789 times |
| וְעִם־ | veim- | and with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| אָ֝דָ֗ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְנֻגָּֽעוּ׃ | yenugau | they are stricken | H5060 → | 150 times |
בַּעֲמַ֣ל[are] in [the] trouble of
baamalH5999 →55 times
אֱנ֣וֹשׁhumankind
ʾenooshH582 →566 times
אֵינֵ֑מוֹnot they
ʾeinemovH369 →789 times
וְעִם־and with
veim-H5973 →1050 times
אָ֝דָ֗םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יְנֻגָּֽעוּ׃they are stricken
yenugauH5060 →150 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 3:19Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:11–12
My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD, and do not loathe His rebuke;
- 1 Corinthians 11:32
But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
- Hebrews 12:5–11
And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you.
- Job 5:17
Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
- Revelation 2:5
Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from…
- Proverbs 3:11–12
Through
Job 21:9Their homes are safe from fear; no rod of punishment from God is upon them.
it leads to
- Job 9:34
Let Him remove His rod from me, so that His terror will no longer frighten me.
- Job 9:34
Through
Psalms 73:12Behold, these are the wicked— always carefree as they increase their wealth.
it leads to
- Psalms 52:7
“Look at the man who did not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his wealth and strengthened himself by destruction.”
- Jeremiah 5:28
They have grown fat and sleek, and have excelled in the deeds of the wicked. They have not taken up the cause of the fatherless, that they might prosper; nor have they defended the…
- Psalms 52:7
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 73; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 101:3; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.