Psalm 1 Text

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Listen & Read: Psalm 1

Read along and listen to our audio recordings for Psalm 1. Choose between simple, unaffected audio recordings (in Hebrew or English), or a dramatized reading that takes into account our emotional, discourse, and poetic analyses. You can also choose between a text-only view, or a view overlaid with our summary At-a-Glance, Expanded Paraphrase, or Participant Analysis tracking.

Text Only (Hebrew and English) The text below is divided according to the psalm's poetic lines. For additional information, see our Poetic Structure layer.

Hebrew Line English
אַ֥שְֽׁרֵי־הָאִ֗ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֤ר׀ לֹ֥א הָלַךְ֮ בַּעֲצַ֪ת רְשָׁ֫עִ֥ים 1a Happy is the one who has not walked in the counsel of wicked people,
וּבְדֶ֣רֶךְ חַ֭טָּאִים לֹ֥א עָמָ֑ד 1b has not taken a stand in the way of sinful people,
וּבְמוֹשַׁ֥ב לֵ֝צִ֗ים לֹ֣א יָשָֽׁב׃ 1c and has not settled in the dwelling place of insolent people!
כִּ֤י אִ֥ם בְּתוֹרַ֥ת יְהוָ֗ה חֶ֫פְצ֥וֹ 2a Instead, his delight is in YHWH's instruction,
וּֽבְתוֹרָת֥וֹ יֶהְגֶּ֗ה יוֹמָ֥ם וָלָֽיְלָה׃ 2b and he meditates on his instruction day and night.
וְֽהָיָ֗ה כְּעֵץ֮ שָׁת֪וּל עַֽל־פַּלְגֵ֫י מָ֥יִם 3a And he will become like a tree transplanted beside water channels
אֲשֶׁ֤ר פִּרְי֨וֹ ׀ יִתֵּ֬ן בְּעִתּ֗וֹ 3b that gives its fruit in its season
וְעָלֵ֥הוּ לֹֽא־יִבּ֑וֹל 3c and whose leaves do not wither.
וְכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁר־יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה יַצְלִֽיחַ׃ 3d And he will cause all that he does to flourish.
לֹא־כֵ֥ן הָרְשָׁעִ֑ים 4a Not so the wicked people!
כִּ֥י אִם־כַּ֝מֹּ֗ץ אֲֽשֶׁר־תִּדְּפֶ֥נּוּ רֽוּחַ׃ 4b Instead, they will be like chaff that the wind drives away.
עַל־כֵּ֤ן ׀ לֹא־יָקֻ֣מוּ רְ֭שָׁעִים בַּמִּשְׁפָּ֑ט 5a Therefore, wicked people will not stand firm in the judgment, [will not stand]
וְ֝חַטָּאִ֗ים בַּעֲדַ֥ת צַדִּיקִֽים׃ 5b and sinful people in the group of righteous people.
כִּֽי־יוֹדֵ֣עַ יְ֭הוָה דֶּ֣רֶךְ צַדִּיקִ֑ים 6a Because YHWH cares for the way of righteous people,
וְדֶ֖רֶךְ רְשָׁעִ֣ים תֹּאבֵֽד׃ 6b and the way of wicked people will come to an end.

Structure Overlay Below, the text has been overlaid with our summary structural analysis. For details on the structure, see the Structure At-a-Glance here.

SpeakerStructure Hebrew Line English Addressee
Psalmist
Happy is the one
 אַ֥שְֽׁרֵי־הָאִ֗ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֤ר׀ לֹ֥א הָלַךְ֮ בַּעֲצַ֪ת רְשָׁ֫עִ֥ים 1a Happy is the one who has not walked in the counsel of wicked people,
admiration
General audience
וּבְדֶ֣רֶךְ חַ֭טָּאִים לֹ֥א עָמָ֑ד 1b has not taken a stand in the way of sinful people,
וּבְמוֹשַׁ֥ב לֵ֝צִ֗ים לֹ֣א יָשָֽׁב׃ 1c and has not settled in the dwelling place of insolent people!
כִּ֤י אִ֥ם בְּתוֹרַ֥ת יְהוָ֗ה חֶ֫פְצ֥וֹ 2a Instead, his delight is in YHWH's instruction,
וּֽבְתוֹרָת֥וֹ יֶהְגֶּ֗ה יוֹמָ֥ם וָלָֽיְלָה׃ 2b and he meditates on his instruction day and night.
וְֽהָיָ֗ה כְּעֵץ֮ שָׁת֪וּל עַֽל־פַּלְגֵ֫י מָ֥יִם 3a And he will become like a tree transplanted beside water channels
אֲשֶׁ֤ר פִּרְי֨וֹ ׀ יִתֵּ֬ן בְּעִתּ֗וֹ 3b that gives its fruit in its season
וְעָלֵ֥הוּ לֹֽא־יִבּ֑וֹל 3c and whose leaves do not wither.
וְכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁר־יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה יַצְלִֽיחַ׃ 3d And he will cause all that he does to flourish.
Not so the wicked
 לֹא־כֵ֥ן הָרְשָׁעִ֑ים 4a Not so the wicked people!
contempt
כִּ֥י אִם־כַּ֝מֹּ֗ץ אֲֽשֶׁר־תִּדְּפֶ֥נּוּ רֽוּחַ׃ 4b Instead, they will be like chaff that the wind drives away.
עַל־כֵּ֤ן ׀ לֹא־יָקֻ֣מוּ רְ֭שָׁעִים בַּמִּשְׁפָּ֑ט 5a Therefore, wicked people will not stand firm in the judgment,
וְ֝חַטָּאִ֗ים בַּעֲדַ֥ת צַדִּיקִֽים׃ 5b and sinful people [will not stand] in the group of righteous people.
Because YHWH
 כִּֽי־יוֹדֵ֣עַ יְ֭הוָה דֶּ֣רֶךְ צַדִּיקִ֑ים 6a Because YHWH cares for the way of righteous people,
confidence
וְדֶ֖רֶךְ רְשָׁעִ֣ים תֹּאבֵֽד׃ 6b and the way of wicked people will come to an end.

Expanded paraphrase The expanded paraphrase seeks to capture the implicit information within the text and make it explicit for readers today. It is based on the CBC translation and uses italic text to provide the most salient background information, presuppositions, entailments, and inferences.

Hebrew Line English
אַ֥שְֽׁרֵי־הָאִ֗ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֤ר׀ לֹ֥א הָלַךְ֮ בַּעֲצַ֪ת רְשָׁ֫עִ֥ים 1a Happy is the one who has not walked in the counsel of wicked people,
וּבְדֶ֣רֶךְ חַ֭טָּאִים לֹ֥א עָמָ֑ד 1b has not taken a stand in the way of sinful people,
וּבְמוֹשַׁ֥ב לֵ֝צִ֗ים לֹ֣א יָשָֽׁב׃ 1c and has not settled in the dwelling place of insolent people!
כִּ֤י אִ֥ם בְּתוֹרַ֥ת יְהוָ֗ה חֶ֫פְצ֥וֹ 2a Instead, his delight is in YHWH's instruction,
וּֽבְתוֹרָת֥וֹ יֶהְגֶּ֗ה יוֹמָ֥ם וָלָֽיְלָה׃ 2b and he meditates on his instruction day and night.
וְֽהָיָ֗ה כְּעֵץ֮ שָׁת֪וּל עַֽל־פַּלְגֵ֫י מָ֥יִם 3a And he will become like a tree transplanted beside water channels
אֲשֶׁ֤ר פִּרְי֨וֹ ׀ יִתֵּ֬ן בְּעִתּ֗וֹ 3b that gives its fruit in its season
וְעָלֵ֥הוּ לֹֽא־יִבּ֑וֹל 3c and whose leaves do not wither.
וְכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁר־יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה יַצְלִֽיחַ׃ 3d And he will cause all that he does to flourish.
לֹא־כֵ֥ן הָרְשָׁעִ֑ים 4a Not so the wicked people!
כִּ֥י אִם־כַּ֝מֹּ֗ץ אֲֽשֶׁר־תִּדְּפֶ֥נּוּ רֽוּחַ׃ 4b Instead, they will be like chaff that the wind drives away.
עַל־כֵּ֤ן ׀ לֹא־יָקֻ֣מוּ רְ֭שָׁעִים בַּמִּשְׁפָּ֑ט 5a Therefore, wicked people will not stand firm in the judgment, [will not stand]
וְ֝חַטָּאִ֗ים בַּעֲדַ֥ת צַדִּיקִֽים׃ 5b and sinful people in the group of righteous people.
כִּֽי־יוֹדֵ֣עַ יְ֭הוָה דֶּ֣רֶךְ צַדִּיקִ֑ים 6a Because YHWH cares for the way of righteous people,
וְדֶ֖רֶךְ רְשָׁעִ֣ים תֹּאבֵֽד׃ 6b and the way of wicked people will come to an end.

Participant Tracking Text Participant Analysis focuses on the characters in the psalm and asks, “Who are the main participants (or characters) in this psalm, and what are they saying or doing? Our full analysis can be found in the Participant Analysis layer.

  Participant Color-Coding

There are 3 participants/characters in Psalm 1:

Profile List

The one
Tree
Righteous people

YHWH

Wicked people
Sinful people
Insolent people
Chaff

Profile Notes

  • The one is the hero of this psalm, the person being celebrated. He is celebrated for his rejection of wickedness (v. 1), his commitment to YHWH's instruction (v. 2), and for the fact that he will become like a tree in YHWH's life-giving garden (v. 3). "The one" is a literary representative for the group of righteous people mentioned in the end of the psalm (vv. 5-6). When Ps 1 is read as a unit together with Ps 2, the identity of "the one" converges with the identity of the anointed king in Ps 2. See The Identity of the Person in Ps 1:1 for details.
  • YHWH, the God of Israel, is the ultimate source of the success of the righteous. He is the one who guides them (v. 2) and cares for them (v. 6a) throughout life's journey. The ambiguity in v. 3d also allows us to see YHWH as the one who "causes all that he does to flourish." See The Grammar of Ps 1:3d for details.
  • The wicked (together with sinful people and insolent people) are the most mentioned participant in this psalm. (On the differences between these different terms for wicked people, see lexical semantics.) The wicked, unlike the righteous, have nothing to do with YHWH's instruction, and so they are like chaff and perish in the judgment.
Speaker Hebrew Line English Addressee
Psalmist
 אַ֥שְֽׁרֵי־הָאִ֗ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֤ר׀ לֹ֥א הָלַךְ֮ בַּעֲצַ֪ת רְשָׁ֫עִ֥ים 1a Happy is the one who has not walked in the counsel of wicked people,
Community
וּבְדֶ֣רֶךְ חַ֭טָּאִים לֹ֥א עָמָ֑ד 1b has not taken a stand in the way of sinful people,
וּבְמוֹשַׁ֥ב לֵ֝צִ֗ים לֹ֣א יָשָֽׁב׃ 1c and has not settled in the dwelling place of insolent people!
כִּ֤י אִ֥ם בְּתוֹרַ֥ת יְהוָ֗ה חֶ֫פְצ֥וֹ 2a Instead, his delight is in YHWH's instruction,
וּֽבְתוֹרָת֥וֹ יֶהְגֶּ֗ה יוֹמָ֥ם וָלָֽיְלָה׃ 2b and he meditates on his instruction day and night.
וְֽהָיָ֗ה כְּעֵץ֮ שָׁת֪וּל עַֽל־פַּלְגֵ֫י מָ֥יִם 3a And he will become like a tree transplanted beside water channels
אֲשֶׁ֤ר פִּרְי֨וֹ ׀ יִתֵּ֬ן בְּעִתּ֗וֹ 3b that gives its fruit in its season
וְעָלֵ֥הוּ לֹֽא־יִבּ֑וֹל 3c and whose leaves do not wither.
וְכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁר־יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה יַצְלִֽיחַ׃ 3d And he will cause all that he does to flourish.
לֹא־כֵ֥ן הָרְשָׁעִ֑ים 4a Not so the wicked people!
כִּ֥י אִם־כַּ֝מֹּ֗ץ אֲֽשֶׁר־תִּדְּפֶ֥נּוּ רֽוּחַ׃ 4b Instead, they will be like chaff that the wind drives away.
עַל־כֵּ֤ן ׀ לֹא־יָקֻ֣מוּ רְ֭שָׁעִים בַּמִּשְׁפָּ֑ט 5a Therefore, wicked people will not stand firm in the judgment,
וְ֝חַטָּאִ֗ים בַּעֲדַ֥ת צַדִּיקִֽים׃ 5b and sinful people [will not stand] in the group of righteous people.
כִּֽי־יוֹדֵ֣עַ יְ֭הוָה דֶּ֣רֶךְ צַדִּיקִ֑ים 6a Because YHWH cares for the way of righteous people,
וְדֶ֖רֶךְ רְשָׁעִ֣ים תֹּאבֵֽד׃ 6b and the way of wicked people will come to an end.