Bible Strands
Psalms 73:17
until I entered God’s sanctuary; then I discerned their end.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God during a moment of moral confusion over the apparent success of the wicked. This declaration follows his admission that attempting to understand the situation through human reasoning alone was deeply troubling.
The words — אָ֝בִ֗ינָה ('a.Vi.nah) = I considered or discerned, paired with לְ/אַחֲרִיתָֽ/ם\׃ (le./'a.cha.ri.Ta/m) = to their end. These terms mark the precise moment of cognitive shift from earthly observation to divine evaluation.
The thread — The movement from earthly confusion to divine clarity runs through Psalms 27:4 and Psalms 77:13, while the sudden reversal of the prosperous aligns with the warning in Luke 12:20.
Why it lands — The text states that proximity to God’s sanctuary reorients judgment from immediate appearances to ultimate outcomes. It requires the reader to stop measuring justice by temporal success and instead submit to divine evaluation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.
Cross-references
- Psalms 77:13 Your way, O God, is holy. What god is so great as our God?
- Luke 12:20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’
- Psalms 27:4 One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple.
- Ecclesiastes 8:12 Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and still lives long, yet I also know that it will go well with those who fear God, who are reverent in His presence.
- Psalms 37:37 Consider the blameless and observe the upright, for posterity awaits the man of peace.
- Psalms 63:2 So I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and glory.
- Psalms 119:24 Your testimonies are indeed my delight; they are my counselors.
- Job 27:8 For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
- Psalms 119:130 The unfolding of Your words gives light; it informs the simple.
- Jeremiah 5:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?