The Meaning of Psalms 73:15 Explained

Psalms 73:15

KJV: If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children.

YLT: If I have said, 'I recount thus,' Lo, a generation of Thy sons I have deceived.

Darby: If I said, I will speak thus, behold, I should be faithless to the generation of thy children.

ASV: If I had said, I will speak thus; Behold, I had dealt treacherously with the generation of thy children.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

If I say,  I will speak  thus;  behold, I should offend  [against] the generation  of thy children. 

What does Psalms 73:15 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalm 73:1-15 - Deceptive Prosperity
The opening psalms of this third Book of Psalms are by Asaph; see 2 Chronicles 29:30. The r.v. margin substitutes only for surely in Psalms 73:1. There is none good but God and God is only good. "His every act pure goodness is; His path unsullied light." Israel, as here intended, is not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. See John 1:47 and Romans 2:28-29.
We have in these verses a good man's temptation. In every age God's people have asked whether God can possibly know all that is taking place on the earth, and if He does know, why He allows evil to prosper. The dark spirit who is ever at our elbow whispers that we should have done as well, and better, if we had not been quite so scrupulous in our business dealings; and we are held back from giving expression to our thoughts only by the fear that we might cause God's weaker children to stumble. This reticence is, of course, wholly commendable. A Christian man confessed the other day that the irreligion of his children was due to his critical and captious speech. By all means keep these dark and faithless thoughts locked in your own breast; you have no right to scatter thistle-down. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalm 73

1  The prophet, prevailing in a temptation
2  Shows the occasion thereof, the prosperity of the wicked
13  The wound given thereby, diffidence
15  The victory over it, knowledge of God's purpose

What do the individual words in Psalms 73:15 mean?

If I had said I will speak thus behold to the generation of Your children I would have been untrue
אִם־ אָ֭מַרְתִּי אֲסַפְּרָ֥ה כְמ֑וֹ הִנֵּ֤ה ד֭וֹר בָּנֶ֣יךָ בָגָֽדְתִּי

אָ֭מַרְתִּי  I  had  said 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֲסַפְּרָ֥ה  I  will  speak 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect Cohortative, first person common singular
Root: סָפַר 
Sense: to count, recount, relate.
כְמ֑וֹ  thus 
Parse: Preposition
Root: כְּמֹו  
Sense: like, as, the like of which conj.
הִנֵּ֤ה  behold 
Parse: Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
ד֭וֹר  to  the  generation 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: דֹּור 
Sense: period, generation, habitation, dwelling.
בָּנֶ֣יךָ  of  Your  children 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
בָגָֽדְתִּי  I  would  have  been  untrue 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: בָּגַד  
Sense: to act treacherously, deceitfully, deal treacherously.