Bible Strands
Psalms 73:18
Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God directly after entering the sanctuary and discerning the ultimate fate of the wicked. This declaration occurs between his observation of the wicked's sudden destruction and his recognition of their terrifying end.
The words — The Hebrew word חֲלָקוֹת (cha.la.kot) means slippery places, and מַשּׁוּאוֹת (ma.shu.'ot) literally denotes deceptions or desolations. The text states God sets the arrogant on unstable ground and casts them into ruin before describing their subsequent collapse.
The thread — This motif of treacherous footing appears in Jeremiah 23:12, Psalms 35:6, and Deuteronomy 32:35 to depict divine judgment on the wicked. These passages trace a consistent pattern where God permits the proud to walk on deceptive paths until their feet slip and they face ruin.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to acknowledge that God sovereignly places the arrogant on unstable ground before executing judgment. It demands trust in divine timing over visible prosperity and rejects the illusion of secure wickedness.
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
Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 23:12 “Therefore their path will become slick; they will be driven away into the darkness and fall into it. For I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment,” declares the LORD.
- Psalms 35:6 May their path be dark and slick, as the angel of the LORD pursues.
- Deuteronomy 32:35 Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”
- Psalms 55:23 But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.
- Psalms 94:23 He will bring upon them their own iniquity and destroy them for their wickedness. The LORD our God will destroy them.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:9 They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might,
- Psalms 37:20 But the wicked and enemies of the LORD will perish like the glory of the fields. They will vanish; like smoke they will fade away.
- Psalms 37:35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted native tree,
- Psalms 92:7 that though the wicked sprout like grass, and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed.
- Psalms 37:24 Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, for the LORD is holding his hand.