Psalms 1:1-2

Book 1
(Psalms 1-41)

Psalm 1 ¹ 

1:1 How blessed ²  is the one ³  who does not follow ⁴  the advice ⁵  of the wicked, ⁶ 

or stand in the pathway ⁷  with sinners,

or sit in the assembly ⁸  of scoffers! ⁹ 

1:2 Instead ¹⁰  he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands; ¹¹ 

he meditates on ¹²  his commands ¹³  day and night.

Psalms 40:4

40:4 How blessed ¹⁴  is the one ¹⁵  who trusts in the Lord ¹⁶ 

and does not seek help from ¹⁷  the proud or from liars! ¹⁸ 

Psalms 84:12

84:12 O Lord who rules over all, ¹⁹ 

how blessed are those who trust in you! ²⁰ 

Psalms 89:15

89:15 How blessed are the people who worship you! ²¹ 

O Lord, they experience your favor. ²² 

Psalms 106:3

106:3 How blessed are those who promote justice,

and do what is right all the time!

Psalms 119:1-2

Psalm 119 ²³ 

א (Alef)

119:1 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, ²⁴ 

who obey ²⁵  the law of the Lord.

119:2 How blessed are those who observe his rules,

and seek him with all their heart,

Psalms 128:1

Psalm 128 ²⁶ 

A song of ascents. ²⁷ 

128:1 How blessed is every one of the Lord’s loyal followers, ²⁸ 

each one who keeps his commands! ²⁹ 

Jeremiah 17:7-8

17:7 My blessing is on those people who trust in me,

who put their confidence in me. ³⁰ 

17:8 They will be like a tree planted near a stream

whose roots spread out toward the water.

It has nothing to fear when the heat comes.

Its leaves are always green.

It has no need to be concerned in a year of drought.

It does not stop bearing fruit.

Matthew 5:3-12

5:3 “Blessed ³¹  are the poor in spirit, ³²  for the kingdom of heaven belongs ³³  to them.

5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ³⁴ 

5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger ³⁵  and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children ³⁶  of God.

5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

5:11 “Blessed are you when people ³⁷  insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely ³⁸  on account of me. 5:12 Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.

Matthew 16:17

16:17 And Jesus answered him, ³⁹  “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood ⁴⁰  did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven!

Luke 11:28

11:28 But he replied, ⁴¹  “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey ⁴²  it!”

Revelation 22:14

22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes so they can have access ⁴³  to the tree of life and can enter into the city by the gates.

[1:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 1. In this wisdom psalm the author advises his audience to reject the lifestyle of the wicked and to be loyal to God. The psalmist contrasts the destiny of the wicked with that of the righteous, emphasizing that the wicked are eventually destroyed while the godly prosper under the Lord’s protective care.

[1:1]  ² tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see v. 3; Pss 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[1:1]  ³ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the more neutral “one.” (Generic “he” is employed in vv. 2-3). Since the godly man described in the psalm is representative of followers of God (note the plural form צַדִּיקִים [tsadiqim, “righteous, godly”] in vv. 5-6), one could translate the collective singular with the plural “those” both here and in vv. 2-3, where singular pronouns and verbal forms are utilized in the Hebrew text (cf. NRSV). However, here the singular form may emphasize that godly individuals are usually outnumbered by the wicked. Retaining the singular allows the translation to retain this emphasis.

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “walk in.” The three perfect verbal forms in v. 1 refer in this context to characteristic behavior. The sequence “walk–stand–sit” envisions a progression from relatively casual association with the wicked to complete identification with them.

[1:1]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew noun translated “advice” most often refers to the “counsel” or “advice” one receives from others. To “walk in the advice of the wicked” means to allow their evil advice to impact and determine one’s behavior.

[1:1]  ⁶ tn In the psalms the Hebrew term רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked”) describes people who are proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21).

[1:1]  ⁷ tn “Pathway” here refers to the lifestyle of sinners. To “stand in the pathway of/with sinners” means to closely associate with them in their sinful behavior.

[1:1]  ⁸ tn Here the Hebrew term מוֹשַׁב (moshav), although often translated “seat” (cf. NEB, NIV), appears to refer to the whole assembly of evildoers. The word also carries the semantic nuance “assembly” in Ps 107:32, where it is in synonymous parallelism with קָהָל (qahal, “assembly”).

[1:1]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew word refers to arrogant individuals (Prov 21:24) who love conflict (Prov 22:10) and vociferously reject wisdom and correction (Prov 1:22; 9:7-8; 13:1; 15:12). To “sit in the assembly” of such people means to completely identify with them in their proud, sinful plans and behavior.

[1:2]  ¹⁰ tn Here the Hebrew expression כִּי־אִם (ki-’im, “instead”) introduces a contrast between the sinful behavior depicted in v. 1 and the godly lifestyle described in v. 2.

[1:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “his delight [is] in the law of the Lord.” In light of the following line, which focuses on studying the Lord’s law, one might translate, “he finds pleasure in studying the Lord’s commands.” However, even if one translates the line this way, it is important to recognize that mere study and intellectual awareness are not ultimately what bring divine favor. Study of the law is metonymic here for the correct attitudes and behavior that should result from an awareness of and commitment to God’s moral will; thus “obeying” has been used in the translation rather than “studying.”

[1:2]  ¹² tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form draws attention to the characteristic behavior described here and lends support to the hyperbolic adverbial phrase “day and night.” The verb הָגָה (hagag) means “to recite quietly; to meditate” and refers metonymically to intense study and reflection.

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Or “his law.”

[40:4]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[40:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “man.” See the note on the word “one” in Ps 1:1.

[40:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “who has made the Lord his [object of] trust.”

[40:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and does not turn toward.”

[40:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “those falling away toward a lie.”

[84:12]  ¹⁹ tn Traditionally “Lord of hosts.”

[84:12]  ²⁰ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man [who] trusts in you.” Hebrew literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle stated here is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the plural “those.” The individual referred to here is representative of all followers of God, as the use of the plural form in v. 12b indicates.

[89:15]  ²¹ tn Heb “who know the shout.” “Shout” here refers to the shouts of the Lord’s worshipers (see Pss 27:6; 33:3; 47:5).

[89:15]  ²² tn Heb “in the light of your face they walk.” The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; Dan 9:17).

[119:1]  ²³ sn Psalm 119. The psalmist celebrates God’s law and the guidance it provides his people. He expresses his desire to know God’s law thoroughly so that he might experience the blessings that come to those who obey it. This lengthy psalm exhibits an elaborate acrostic pattern. The psalm is divided into twenty-two sections (corresponding to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet), each of which is comprised of eight verses. Each of the verses in the first section (vv. 1-8) begins with the letter alef (א), the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This pattern continues throughout the psalm as each new section highlights a successive letter of the alphabet. Each verse in section two (vv. 9-16) begins with the second letter of the alphabet, each verse in section three (vv. 17-24) with the third letter, etc. This rigid pattern creates a sense of order and completeness and may have facilitated memorization.

[119:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness of those who are blameless of way.”

[119:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “walk in.”

[128:1]  ²⁶ sn Psalm 128. The psalmist observes that the godly individual has genuine happiness because the Lord rewards such a person with prosperity and numerous children.

[128:1]  ²⁷ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[128:1]  ²⁸ tn Heb “every fearer of the Lord.”

[128:1]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the one who walks in his ways.”

[17:7]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Blessed is the person who trusts in the Lord, and whose confidence is in the Lord.” However, because this is a statement of the Lord and the translation chooses to show that the blessing comes from him, the first person is substituted for the divine name.

[5:3]  ³¹ sn The term Blessed introduces the first of several beatitudes promising blessing to those whom God cares for. They serve as an invitation to come into the grace God offers.

[5:3]  ³² sn The poor in spirit is a reference to the “pious poor” for whom God especially cares. See Ps 14:6; 22:24; 25:16; 34:6; 40:17; 69:29.

[5:3]  ³³ sn The present tense (belongs) here is significant. Jesus makes the kingdom and its blessings currently available. This phrase is unlike the others in the list with the possessive pronoun being emphasized.

[5:4]  ³⁴ sn The promise they will be comforted is the first of several “reversals” noted in these promises. The beatitudes and the reversals that accompany them serve in the sermon as an invitation to enter into God’s care, because one can know God cares for those who turn to him.

[5:6]  ³⁵ sn Those who hunger are people like the poor Jesus has already mentioned. The term has OT roots both in conjunction with the poor (Isa 32:6-7; 58:6-7, 9-10; Ezek 18:7, 16) or by itself (Ps 37:16-19; 107:9).

[5:9]  ³⁶ tn Grk “sons,” though traditionally English versions have taken this as a generic reference to both males and females, hence “children” (cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT).

[5:11]  ³⁷ tn Grk “when they insult you.” The third person pronoun (here implied in the verb ὀνειδίσωσιν [ojneidiswsin]) has no specific referent, but refers to people in general.

[5:11]  ³⁸ tc Although ψευδόμενοι (yeudomenoi, “bearing witness falsely”) could be a motivated reading, clarifying that the disciples are unjustly persecuted, its lack in only D it sy^s Tert does not help its case. Since the Western text is known for numerous free alterations, without corroborative evidence the shorter reading must be judged as secondary.

[16:17]  ³⁹ tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to him.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the syntax of this phrase has been modified for clarity.

[16:17]  ⁴⁰ tn The expression “flesh and blood” could refer to “any human being” (so TEV, NLT; cf. NIV “man”), but it could also refer to Peter himself (i.e., his own intuition; cf. CEV “You didn’t discover this on your own”). Because of the ambiguity of the referent, the phrase “flesh and blood” has been retained in the translation.

[11:28]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “said.”

[11:28]  ⁴² sn This is another reference to hearing and doing the word of God, which here describes Jesus’ teaching; see Luke 8:21.

[22:14]  ⁴³ tn Grk “so that there will be to them authority over the tree of life.”