Old Testament
Psalms 1
Overview
Psalm 1 is a wisdom poem that sets two ways before every reader: the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked. The blessed person refuses the counsel of the wicked and instead delights in the LORD's law, meditating on it day and night, becoming like a tree planted by streams of water. The wicked, by contrast, are like chaff the wind drives away, having no standing in the judgment. The psalm functions as a doorway into the whole Psalter, inviting the worshiper to choose the path of life.
1Blessed is the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand on the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers;
2but his delight is in Yahweh’s law. On his law he meditates day and night.
3He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that produces its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever he does shall prosper.
4The wicked are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish.