Psalm 73:13 kjv
Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.
Psalm 73:13 nkjv
Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, And washed my hands in innocence.
Psalm 73:13 niv
Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence.
Psalm 73:13 esv
All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.
Psalm 73:13 nlt
Did I keep my heart pure for nothing?
Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?
Psalm 73 13 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ps 24:3-4 | "Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? ...He who has clean hands and a pure heart..." | Condition for entering God's presence |
| Ps 26:6 | "I wash my hands in innocence..." | Similar expression of personal integrity |
| Job 9:30-31 | "If I wash myself with soap...you will plunge me into a pit..." | Futility of self-purification before God |
| Jas 4:8 | "Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." | Command for both outward and inward purity |
| Matt 5:8 | "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." | Purity rewarded with divine vision |
| Jer 2:22 | "though you wash yourself with soda...the stain of your guilt is still before me..." | External cleansing insufficient for sin |
| Ps 73:2-3 | "But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled...for I was envious of the arrogant..." | Asaph's envy preceding his despair |
| Ps 73:14 | "All the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning." | Asaph's continued suffering despite righteousness |
| Ps 73:17 | "until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end." | The turning point for Asaph's understanding |
| Ps 73:18-20 | "Truly you set them in slippery places...they are in ruins..." | God's ultimate judgment on the wicked |
| Ps 37:1 | "Fret not yourself because of evildoers..." | Counsel against envying the wicked |
| Prov 28:27 | "Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse." | Righteousness bringing prosperity (usually) |
| Ecc 1:2 | "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity." | Theme of futility without God's perspective |
| Prov 14:12 | "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." | Danger of judging solely by appearances |
| Mal 3:14-15 | "You have said, 'It is vain to serve God. What is the profit...when we keep his charge?'" | Similar complaint about service being vain |
| Hab 3:17-19 | "Though the fig tree should not blossom...yet I will rejoice in the Lord." | Joy in God despite lack of visible blessings |
| 1 Pet 4:12-13 | "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial...but rejoice..." | Suffering of the righteous is expected |
| 1 Jn 3:3 | "Everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure." | Believers' call to purify themselves |
| Heb 12:14 | "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord." | Call to holiness |
| 1 Tim 2:8 | "I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands..." | Purity for prayer |
| Mk 7:1-8 | Jesus teaching on internal purity vs. external traditions | True defilement from the heart |
| Titus 2:11-12 | "For the grace of God has appeared...training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions..." | Grace teaching us to live pure lives |
Psalm 73 verses
Psalm 73 13 Meaning
Psalm 73:13 articulates the psalmist Asaph's profound moment of disillusionment. Having observed the unchecked prosperity and arrogance of the wicked, he concludes that his own dedicated efforts to live a life of moral purity, both internally and externally, have been utterly fruitless and without reward. It expresses a struggle where external appearances seem to contradict the just order expected by those who follow God's ways.
Psalm 73 13 Context
Psalm 73 is a lament of Asaph, a chief musician and seer in the Levitical line (2 Chr 29:30). It is one of the wisdom psalms, addressing the timeless problem of theodicy – the perplexing reality of the wicked's prosperity versus the righteous's suffering. The psalmist begins by affirming God's goodness (v. 1), but quickly spirals into doubt, revealing his envy of the proud and ungodly who seem to flourish (vv. 2-12). They speak arrogantly, live comfortably, and appear immune to the troubles of ordinary men.Verse 13 encapsulates the depth of Asaph's despair and bewilderment before he gained a proper understanding. It is a cynical conclusion born from his comparison of his diligent adherence to purity with the apparent lack of consequences for the ungodly. This personal crisis of faith sets the stage for his crucial theological breakthrough in verse 17 when he enters the sanctuary and comprehends their ultimate destruction.
Psalm 73 13 Word analysis
- Surely (Hebrew: אךְ, 'akh): An emphatic particle meaning "indeed," "only," or "nevertheless." In this context, it marks a strong, even absolute, conclusion or a deeply felt lament. It conveys certainty in the speaker's despairing thought, emphasizing the firmness of his mistaken belief.
- in vain (Hebrew: רִיק, riq): Literally meaning "emptiness," "futile," or "without result." It denotes utter worthlessness and serves as the core of Asaph's complaint. His actions feel devoid of any benefit or purpose. This is a powerful expression of disillusionment.
- have I cleansed (Hebrew: זַכִּיתִי, zakîti from זָכָה, zakha): Hiphil perfect 1st person singular. To be pure, clean, or justified. The Hiphil stem indicates a causative or declarative sense – "I have made myself clean" or "I have declared myself clean." It signifies an intentional and active effort towards moral purity.
- my heart (Hebrew: לִבִּי, libbî): The "heart" in biblical anthropology represents the core of a person's being—the seat of thoughts, intentions, will, emotions, and moral character. Cleansing the heart speaks to purifying one's inner motives, desires, and entire spiritual disposition before God.
- and washed (Hebrew: וָאֶרְחַץ, va'erkhatz from רָחַץ, rakhatz): Qal perfect 1st person singular with Waw-consecutive. To wash, typically used for bodily washing or cleansing garments. This complements "cleansed my heart" by referring to outward actions.
- my hands (Hebrew: כַּפַּי, kappay): The "hands" symbolize one's actions, deeds, or work. Washing one's hands ritualistically signified purification (as in ceremonial law), but biblically it often represented freedom from guilt, blamelessness in actions, or integrity in conduct (as in Ps 26:6).
- in innocency (Hebrew: בְּנִקָּיוֹן, beniqqāyôn from נָקָה, naqa): Literally "in cleanness," "in purity," or "in blamelessness." It refers to moral and ethical purity, a state of being free from sin or guilt. This strengthens the idea that his actions and inner life were conscientiously aimed at righteousness.
Words-group analysis:
- "Surely in vain": This phrase dramatically sets the tone, highlighting the psalmist's strong conviction that his efforts were useless. It expresses a conclusion of deep despair rather than a question, a statement of futility.
- "have I cleansed my heart, and washed my hands": This parallelism emphasizes both the internal (heart) and external (hands) dimensions of his striving for purity. It refers to a comprehensive effort toward spiritual and moral integrity, not just outward religious observance. The combined imagery points to a life committed to God's standards.
- "in innocency": This modifies the washing of hands, underscoring that the actions were undertaken with blamelessness and moral purity as their aim, reflecting genuine effort to live rightly, not just ceremonially.
Psalm 73 13 Bonus section
This verse articulates the spiritual despair of one who, in faith, pursued holiness, only to perceive that such efforts brought no apparent advantage, and indeed, seemed to invite more trouble (as hinted in Ps 73:14). It embodies a deep theological struggle within the faithful: How can God be just if the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer? The language of "cleansing the heart" and "washing the hands" often reflects preparation for divine worship or a state of moral readiness before God. Asaph here laments that such preparation feels ridiculed by worldly realities. His emotional conclusion sets up the dramatic reversal that occurs when he enters the "sanctuary of God," where divine truth overthrows his human cynicism. This lament also indirectly sets a polemic against superficial religious observance by demonstrating that even sincere spiritual efforts feel pointless when viewed through a worldly lens of reward.
Psalm 73 13 Commentary
Psalm 73:13 represents the lowest point in Asaph's crisis of faith. He expresses a poignant lament that his disciplined commitment to living a pure life, both inwardly in his intentions ("cleansed my heart") and outwardly in his actions ("washed my hands in innocency"), appears utterly pointless ("in vain"). He arrives at this despondent conclusion by contrasting his own seemingly unrewarded struggles with the apparent ease and success of the wicked. This verse highlights the profound temptation to doubt God's justice when visible circumstances contradict expected divine principles. It encapsulates the dangerous yet common human inclination to judge spiritual worth based on material prosperity. Asaph, at this moment, perceives an unjust world order, where righteousness brings hardship, and wickedness brings benefit. This statement is a profound expression of his immediate human response and struggle, but it is ultimately a misperception that the rest of the Psalm, beginning from verse 17, corrects. This serves as a vital reminder that judging God's ways solely on present appearances is often misleading.