PsALM 73 As rInG COMPOsITIOn 35 the other side in reverse order 62. For Psalm 73, it has already been shown that, apart from the introductory and concluding sections and the middle turning point, the remainder of the psalm can be divided into four main sections, each introduced by the structural marker $a or yk. It has also been pointed out that the markers are arranged chias- tically, such that it follows the pattern yk (v. 4) – $a (v. 13) – $a (v. 18) – yk (v. 21). This already suggests that the yk and the $a sections on each side of the turning point are designed to function as correspon- ding sections. That the two yk sections in vv. 4-12 and vv. 21-26 are set against each other can be seen from the recurrence of several key terms. As some have already noted, the related pair ~ymvb (“in heaven”) and #rab (“on earth”), used in tandem to form a merism in v. 9, is also present and similarly used in v. 25 63. Thus, if the reach of the wicked’s arrogant words seems limitless, God’s importance to the psalmist is unrivalled. The repetition of ~lw[ at the end of the respective sections is also significant, for while in v. 12 the psalmist summarises the state of the wicked as ~lw[ ywlv (“at ease forever”), in v. 26 he realises that ~lw[l ~yhla yqlx (“God is [...] my portion forever”). There is also the repetition of bbl (“heart”) in v. 7 and v. 26. Al- though bbl is found six times in five verses within the psalm, other than the introduction of the main theme “God is good [...] to those pure in heart” in v. 1, the other occurrences seem strategically placed to form rhetorical links in corresponding sections. Leaving aside its occurrence in v. 13 and v. 21 for the moment, it is noteworthy that in v. 7 and v. 26 bbl is found with an additional term associated with the human body: in v. 7, bbl twykf (“heart’s imaginations”) parallels wmny[ (“their eyes”), whereas in v. 26, ybbl (“my heart”) is conjoined with yrav (“my flesh”) 64. Thus, while in v. 7 the eyes and heart of the wicked reflect greed and transgression, in v. 26 the body and heart of the psalmist, though failing, are strengthened by God. To show that the two $a sections in vv. 13-15 and vv. 18-20 corre- spond to each other poses a greater challenge. For unlike the two yk 62 DOuGLAs, Thinking in Circles, 6, 14, 36. 63 ALLen, “Psalm 73”, 105; KrAšOveC, Antithetic Structure, 44; GIrArD, Les Psaumes, 288; AuFFreT, “Étude structurelle”, 266. 64 For wmny[ “their eyes” in v. 7, the LXX and Peshitta seem to read wmnw[ (“their iniquity”). But the verse is notoriously difficult, and since it is possible to make sense of either reading, until further insight is forthcoming, I will simply follow the MT. should the variant reading prove preferable, the correspondence between v. 7 and v. 26 would admittedly be jeopardized.