Bible Strands
Psalms 73:7
From their prosperity proceeds iniquity; the imaginations of their hearts run wild.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist describes the internal state of the wicked immediately after noting their external pride and violence, and immediately before detailing their arrogant speech.
The words — חֶלֶב (Chelev) translates literally as fat, and מַשְׂכִּיּוֹת (maskiyyot) denotes imaginations or devices.
The thread — The text links prosperity to moral decay in Job 15:27 and Jeremiah 5:28, while Psalms 17:10 uses the Hebrew word for fat metaphorically to describe callous hearts rather than physical condition.
Why it lands — The verse demands a reader to trace how outward abundance directly fuels inward corruption without requiring external punishment to expose it.
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
Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish.
Cross-references
- Job 15:27 Though his face is covered with fat and his waistline bulges with flesh,
- Psalms 17:10 They have closed their callous hearts; their mouths speak with arrogance.
- 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 rights of the needy.
- Psalms 73:12 Behold, these are the wicked—always carefree as they increase their wealth.
- 1 Samuel 25:2 Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. He was a very wealthy man with a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel.
- 1 Samuel 25:36 When Abigail returned to Nabal, there he was in the house, holding a feast fit for a king, in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing until morning light.
- Psalms 17:14 from such men, O LORD, by Your hand—from men of the world whose portion is in this life. May You fill the bellies of Your treasured ones and satisfy their sons, so they leave their abundance to their children.
- Psalms 119:70 Their hearts are callous and insensitive, but I delight in Your law.
- Isaiah 3:9 The expression on their faces testifies against them, and like Sodom they flaunt their sin; they do not conceal it. Woe to them, for they have brought disaster upon themselves.
- Ezekiel 16:49 Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy.