Joshua 1:7-8

Context
1:7 Make sure you are¹ very strong and brave! Carefully obey² all the law my servant Moses charged you to keep!³ Do not swerve from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful⁴ in all you do.⁵ 1:8 This law scroll must not leave your lips!⁶ You must memorize it⁷ day and night so you can carefully obey⁸ all that is written in it. Then you will prosper⁹ and be successful.¹⁰

Psalms 1:1-3

Context

Book 1
(Psalms 1-41)

Psalm 1¹¹

1:1 How blessed¹² is the one¹³ who does not follow¹⁴ the advice¹⁵ of the wicked,¹⁶

or stand in the pathway¹⁷ with sinners,

or sit in the assembly¹⁸ of scoffers!¹⁹

1:2 Instead²⁰ he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands;²¹

he meditates on²² his commands²³ day and night.

1:3 He is like²⁴ a tree planted by flowing streams;²⁵

it²⁶ yields²⁷ its fruit at the proper time,²⁸

and its leaves never fall off.²⁹

He succeeds in everything he attempts.³⁰

[1:7] ¹tn Or “Only be.”

[1:7] ²tn Heb “so you can be careful to do.” The use of the infinitive לִשְׁמֹר (lishmor, “to keep”) after the imperatives suggests that strength and bravery will be necessary for obedience. Another option is to take the form לִשְׁמֹר as a vocative lamed (ל) with imperative (see Isa 38:20 for an example of this construction), which could be translated, “Indeed, be careful!”

[1:7] ³tn Heb “commanded you.”

[1:7] ⁴tn Heb “be wise,” but the word can mean “be successful” by metonymy.

[1:7] ⁵tn Heb “in all which you go.”

[1:8] ⁶tn Heb “mouth.”

[1:8] ⁷tn Heb “read it in undertones,” or “recite it quietly” (see HALOT 1:237).

[1:8] ⁸tn Heb “be careful to do.”

[1:8] ⁹tn Heb “you will make your way prosperous.”

[1:8] ¹⁰tn Heb “and be wise,” but the word can mean “be successful” by metonymy.

[1:1] ¹¹sn 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] ¹²tn 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] ¹³tn 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] ¹⁴tn 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] ¹⁵tn 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] ¹⁶tn 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] ¹⁷tn “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] ¹⁸tn 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] ¹⁹tn 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] ²⁰tn 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] ²¹tn 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] ²²tn 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] ²³tn Or “his law.”

[1:3] ²⁴tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the same characteristic force as the imperfect in the preceding verse. According to the psalmist, the one who studies and obeys God’s commands typically prospers.

[1:3] ²⁵tn Heb “channels of water.”

[1:3] ²⁶tn Heb “which.”

[1:3] ²⁷tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in v. 3 draw attention to the typical nature of the actions/states they describe.

[1:3] ²⁸tn Heb “in its season.”

[1:3] ²⁹tn Or “fade”; “wither.”

[1:3] ³⁰tn Heb “and all which he does prospers”; or “and all which he does he causes to prosper.” (The simile of the tree does not extend to this line.) It is not certain if the Hiphil verbal form (יַצְלִיחַ, yatsliakh) is intransitive-exhibitive (“prospers”) or causative (“causes to prosper”) here. If the verb is intransitive, then כֹּל (kol, “all, everything”) is the subject. If the verb is causative, then the godly individual or the Lord himself is the subject and כֹּל is the object. The wording is reminiscent of Josh 1:8, where the Lord tells Joshua: “This law scroll must not leave your lips! You must memorize it day and night so you can carefully obey all that is written in it. Then you will prosper (literally, “cause your way to prosper”) and be successful.”