Psalm 1
Introduction
Overview
Purpose: To persuade the hearer that following YHWH's instruction is worthwhile.
Content: It is not the wicked, but the one who follows YHWH's instruction who is "happy." This is because "YHWH cares for the way of righteous people, and the wicked's way will come to an end.
Message: In the end, it's those who follow YHWH's instruction who will flourish.
Background Ideas
Psalm 1 (especially when it is read against the background of the end of Malachi) appears to assume a situation in which...
- The wicked live alongside the righteous (like grain and chaff growing together in a field)
- The wicked seem to flourish (cf. Mal 3:14-15)
- People call the wicked "happy" (cf. Mal 3:14-15)
In response to this assumed situation, the psalmist says that it is the righteous, not the wicked, who are to be considered "happy." The psalm envisions a coming time when...
- Judgment will come (cf. v. 5)
- YHWH will separate the wicked from the righteous (like chaff from grain) (cf. vv. 4-5)
- YHWH will remove the wicked from the land (just as wind blows away the chaff) (cf. vv. 4-5)
- The righteous alone will possess the land (see esp. Ps 37 as in many ways echoing the themes of Ps 1)
- The righteous will flourish like trees in YHWH's garden (cf. Ps 92, which also echoes the themes of Ps 1)
In order to fully appreciate this "story" and understand the psalm, some background information is necessary:
- People declare someone to be "happy" (אַשְׁרֵי) when they admire that person's condition and consider it to be admirable and desirable (cf. Janzen 1965, 215-226; SDBH). For example, when the Queen of Sheba saw the wealth and wisdom and King Solomon, she exclaimed, "Happy (אַשְׁרֵי) are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!" (1 Kgs 10:8, ESV).
- When wicked people flourish, others are tempted to declare them "happy." For example, Malachi (which occurs immediately before Ps 1 in the order of the Hebrew canon) says, “You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it’” (Mal 3:14-15, NIV; cf. Jer 12:1; Ps 73).
- YHWH is the judge of all the earth (Gen 18:25), and the job of a just judge is to acquit the righteous/innocent (צַדִּיק) and condemn the wicked/guilty (רָשָׁע) (see Deut 25:1).
- "In winnowing, grain is threshed in order to separate the kernel of grain from the husk and straw. The mixture is thrown into the air with a winnowing fork or shovel. The wind blows the light husks away, the heavier straw falls near the edge of the threshing floor, and the grain falls back to the floor to be collected. Both the light husks and the heavier straw are referred to in the words translated 'chaff' in the Bible" (Ryken et al. ed. 1998, 136).
- The place of YHWH's life-giving presence is depicted as a garden paradise (Gen 2; Ezek 47:12) in which the righteous grow like trees (Pss 52:10; 92:13-15; cf. Creach 1999).
Background Situation
Sections
Videos
Video files
- The script for the Overview video is available here.
- The slides for the Overview video are available here.
Translation Aids
Recommended steps for translating the psalms
To translate poetry accurately and beautifully, a knowledge of both the source language's poetry and the target language's poetry is needed. So, here are the steps we recommend to follow when setting out to translate the psalms:
- GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE TARGET LANGUAGE'S POETRY/ARTS. Research and analyze many examples from numerous genres of poetry, storytelling, and music in the target language and culture, and document findings. See our for help.
- GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOURCE LANGUAGE'S (HEBREW) MEANING AND POETRY. The aim of all our materials is to provide exactly this for the translator, poet/musician/artist, and consultant: an understanding of what the psalm means, as well as its poetics.
- TRANSLATE THE PSALM IN THE APPROPRIATE LOCAL ART/POETRY GENRE.
Translation and Performance Notes
TPNs are an at-a-glance reference for anyone involved with translating or checking a translation of the psalm. Specific words, phrases, and images that could be difficult to understand or to translate are highlighted, and then briefly discussed. Each note is intended to help the reader understand the meaning of the Hebrew word or phrase in its context, as well as provide a few translation options or suggestions, often pulling from existing translations. Where pertinent, our preferred translation option is given. NOTE: These notes are intended to supplement a robust internalization of the psalm, not replace it. Translation Challenges for Psalm 1 not available yet.
Close-but-Clear Translation
- 1. Happy is the one who has not walked in the counsel of wicked people,
- has not taken a stand in the way of sinful people,
- and has not settled in the dwelling place of insolent people!
- 2. Instead, his delight is in YHWH's instruction,
- and he meditates on his instruction day and night.
- 3. And he will become like a tree transplanted beside water channels
- that gives its fruit in its season
- and whose leaves do not wither.
- And he will cause all that he does to flourish.
- 4. Not so the wicked people!
- Instead, they will be like chaff that the wind drives away.
- 5. Therefore, wicked people will not stand firm in the judgment,
- and sinful people [will not stand] in the group of righteous people.
- 6. Because YHWH cares for the way of righteous people,
- and the way of wicked people will come to an end.
Explore the Layers
Exegetical Issues
Grammar
Semantics
Lexical and Phrase-level Semantics
Verbal Semantics
Story Behind the Psalm (Unit-level Semantics)
Discourse
Participant Analysis
Macrosyntax
Speech Act Analysis
Emotional Analysis
Repeated Roots
Poetics
Poetic Structure & Features
Verse-by-Verse Notes
View all of Psalm 1 Verse-by-Verse Notes, or click on an individual verse below.