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BOOK 1

The Way of the Righteous and Wicked

How blessed is the man who (A)does not walk in the (B)counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the (C)way of sinners,
Nor (D)sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his (E)delight is (F)in the law of [a]Yahweh,
And in His law he meditates (G)day and (H)night.
And he will be like (I)a tree firmly planted by [b]streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its [c]leaf does not wither;
And [d]in whatever he does, (J)he prospers.

The wicked are not so,
But they are like (K)chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore (L)the wicked will not rise in the (M)judgment,
Nor sinners in (N)the congregation of the righteous.
For Yahweh [e](O)knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of (P)the wicked will perish.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 1:2 The personal covenant name of God, a form of I AM WHO I AM, cf. Ex 3:14-15
  2. Psalm 1:3 Or canals
  3. Psalm 1:3 Or foliage
  4. Psalm 1:3 Or all that he does prospers
  5. Psalm 1:6 Or approves, has regard to

BOOK I

(Psalms 1–41)

Psalm 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.
Instead of doing those things,
    these persons love the Lord’s Instruction,
    and they recite God’s Instruction day and night!
They 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.

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