Psalm 1

English Standard Version

Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

1 Blessed is the man^[a]
    who ^(A)walks not in ^(B)the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in ^(C)the way of sinners,
    nor ^(D)sits in ^(E)the seat of ^(F)scoffers;
²but his ^(G)delight is in the law^[b] of the Lord,
    and on his ^(H)law he meditates day and night.

³He is like ^(I)a tree
    planted by ^(J)streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its ^(K)leaf does not wither.
^(L)In all that he does, he prospers.
⁴The wicked are not so,
    but are like ^(M)chaff that the wind drives away.

⁵Therefore the wicked ^(N)will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in ^(O)the congregation of the righteous;
⁶for the Lord ^(P)knows ^(Q)the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Footnotes

Psalm 1:1 The singular Hebrew word for man (ish) is used here to portray a representative example of a godly person; see Preface
Psalm 1:2 Or instruction

Psalm 1

Common English Bible

BOOK I

(Psalms 1–41)

Psalm 1

1 The truly happy person
    doesn’t follow wicked advice,
    doesn’t stand on the road of sinners,
    and doesn’t sit with the disrespectful.
²Instead of doing those things,
    these persons love the Lord’s Instruction,
    and they recite God’s Instruction day and night!
³They are like a tree replanted by streams of water,
    which bears fruit at just the right time
    and whose leaves don’t fade.
        Whatever they do succeeds.

⁴That’s not true for the wicked!
    They are like dust that the wind blows away.
⁵And that’s why the wicked will have no standing in the court of justice—
    neither will sinners
    in the assembly of the righteous.
⁶The Lord is intimately acquainted
    with the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked is destroyed.

English Standard Version (ESV)

Common English Bible (CEB)

Psalm 1 English Standard Version