Psalm 1/Notes/Verbal.v. 3.822613
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
The tense of the verb וְהָיָה could be present ("he is," so NIV, NLT, ESV, CSB, CEV, GNT, NET, NEB) or future ("he will be[come]," so KJV, ASV, NASB, JPS, ISV). According to the present-tense interpretation, the waw prefixed form וְהָיָה "carries the same characteristic force as the imperfect in the preceding verse" (NET). But if the poet wanted to say "he is like a tree," then he could have used a simple verbless clause. Furthermore, when וְֽהָיָה functions as an ordinary verb (rather than a discourse marker), "reference is typically to events that are projected in the future" (BHRG §40.24). See also LXX: καὶ ἔσται; Jerome (iuxta Hebr.): et erit.