Psalms 1:4-6

1:4 Not so with the wicked!

Instead ¹  they are like wind-driven chaff. ² 

1:5 For this reason ³  the wicked cannot withstand ⁴  judgment, ⁵ 

nor can sinners join the assembly of the godly. ⁶ 

1:6 Certainly ⁷  the Lord guards the way of the godly, ⁸ 

but the way of the wicked ends in destruction. ⁹ 

Psalms 9:17

9:17 The wicked are turned back and sent to Sheol; ¹⁰ 

this is the destiny of ¹¹  all the nations that ignore ¹²  God,

Psalms 52:5

52:5 Yet ¹³  God will make you a permanent heap of ruins. ¹⁴ 

He will scoop you up ¹⁵  and remove you from your home; ¹⁶ 

he will uproot you from the land of the living. (Selah)

Proverbs 14:32

14:32 The wicked will be thrown down in his trouble, ¹⁷ 

but the righteous have refuge ¹⁸  even in the threat of death. ¹⁹ 

Matthew 13:30

13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At ²⁰  harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, but then ²¹  gather ²²  the wheat into my barn.”’”

Matthew 13:49-50

13:49 It will be this way at the end of the age. Angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous 13:50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, ²³  where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 25:46

25:46 And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Matthew 25:2

25:2 Five ²⁴  of the virgins ²⁵  were foolish, and five were wise.

Matthew 1:8-9

1:8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah, 1:9 Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

¹ tn Here the Hebrew expression כִּי־אִם (ki-’im, “instead,” cf. v. 2) introduces a contrast between the prosperity of the godly depicted in v. 3 and the destiny of the wicked described in v. 4.

² tn Heb “[they are] like the chaff which [the] wind blows about.” The Hebrew imperfect verbal form draws attention to the typical nature of the action described.

³ tn Or “Therefore.”

⁴ tn Heb “arise in,” but the verb is used metonymically here in the sense of “stand”; “endure,” as in 1 Sam 13:14 and Job 8:15. The negated Hebrew imperfect verbal form is here taken as indicating incapability or lack of potential, though one could understand the verb form as indicating what is typical (“do not withstand”) or what will happen (“will not withstand”).

⁵ tn Heb “the judgment.” The article indicates a judgment that is definite in the mind of the speaker. In the immediate context this probably does not refer to the “final judgment” described in later biblical revelation, but to a temporal/historical judgment which the author anticipates. Periodically during the OT period, God would come in judgment, removing the wicked from the scene, while preserving a godly remnant (see Gen 6-9; Ps 37; Hab 3).

⁶ tn Heb “and sinners in the assembly (or “circle”) of [the] godly.” The negative particle and verb from the preceding line are assumed by ellipsis here (“will not arise/stand”).

⁷ tn The translation understands כי as asseverative. Another option is to translate “for,” understanding v. 6 as a theological explanation for vv. 3-5, which contrasts the respective destinies of the godly and the wicked.

⁸ tn Heb “the Lord knows the way of the righteous.” To “know a way” means, in its most basic sense, “to recognize/acknowledge a pathway, route, or prescribed way of life” (see Josh 3:4; Job 21:14; Ps 67:2; Isa 42:16; Jer 5:4-5). Here it could refer to the Lord recognizing the behavior of the godly and, by metonymy, rewarding their godliness with security and prosperity (resulting in the translation, “the Lord rewards the behavior of the godly”). The present translation takes the verb in the sense of “mark out” (cf. Job 23:10), which metonymically could mean “watch over, protect, guard.” In this case the “way of the godly” is not their behavior, but their course of life or destiny; a translation reflecting this would be “the Lord protects the lives of the godly” or “the Lord watches over the destiny of the godly” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). The Hebrew active participle יוֹדֵעַ (yodea’, “knows”) has here a characteristic durative force.

⁹ tn Heb “but the way of the wicked perishes.” The “way of the wicked” may refer to their course of life (Ps 146:9; Prov 4:19; Jer 12:1) or their sinful behavior (Prov 12:26; 15:9). The Hebrew imperfect verbal form probably describes here what typically happens, though one could take the form as indicating what will happen (“will perish”).

¹⁰ tn Heb “the wicked turn back to Sheol.” The imperfect verbal form either emphasizes what typically happens or describes vividly the aftermath of the Lord’s victory over the psalmist’s enemies. See v. 3.

¹¹ tn The words “this is the destiny of” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. The verb “are turned back” is understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).

¹² tn Heb “forget.” “Forgetting God” refers here to worshiping false gods and thereby refusing to recognize his sovereignty (see also Deut 8:19; Judg 3:7; 1 Sam 12:9; Isa 17:10; Jer 3:21; Ps 44:20). The nations’ refusal to acknowledge God’s sovereignty accounts for their brazen attempt to attack and destroy his people.

¹³ tn The adverb גַּם (gam, “also; even”) is translated here in an adversative sense (“yet”). It highlights the contrastive correspondence between the evildoer’s behavior and God’s response.

¹⁴ tn Heb “will tear you down forever.”

¹⁵ tn This rare verb (חָתָה, khatah) occurs only here and in Prov 6:27; 25:22; Isa 30:14.

¹⁶ tn Heb “from [your] tent.”

¹⁷ tn The prepositional phrase must be “in his time of trouble” (i.e., when catastrophe comes). Cf. CEV “In times of trouble the wicked are destroyed.” A wicked person has nothing to fall back on in such times.

¹⁸ sn The righteous have hope in a just retribution – they have a place of safety even in death.

¹⁹ tc The LXX reads this as “in his integrity,” as if it were בְּתוּמּוֹ (bÿtumo) instead of “in his death” (בְּמוֹתוֹ, bÿmoto). The LXX is followed by some English versions (e.g., NAB “in his honesty,” NRSV “in their integrity,” and TEV “by their integrity”).

²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

²¹ tn Grk “but.”

²² tn Grk “burned, but gather.”

²³ sn An allusion to Dan 3:6.

²⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

²⁵ tn Grk “Five of them.”