Psalms 1:1-3

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.

1:3 He is like ¹⁴  a tree planted by flowing streams; ¹⁵ 

it ¹⁶  yields ¹⁷  its fruit at the proper time, ¹⁸ 

and its leaves never fall off. ¹⁹ 

He succeeds in everything he attempts. ²⁰ 

Psalms 15:1-5

Psalm 15 ²¹ 

A psalm of David.

15:1 Lord, who may be a guest in your home? ²² 

Who may live on your holy hill? ²³ 

15:2 Whoever lives a blameless life, ²⁴ 

does what is right,

and speaks honestly. ²⁵ 

15:3 He ²⁶  does not slander, ²⁷ 

or do harm to others, ²⁸ 

or insult his neighbor. ²⁹ 

15:4 He despises a reprobate, ³⁰ 

but honors the Lord’s loyal followers. ³¹ 

He makes firm commitments and does not renege on his promise. ³² 

15:5 He does not charge interest when he lends his money. ³³ 

He does not take bribes to testify against the innocent. ³⁴ 

The one who lives like this ³⁵  will never be upended.

Psalms 106:3

106:3 How blessed are those who promote justice,

and do what is right all the time!

Psalms 112:1

Psalm 112 ³⁶ 

112:1 Praise the Lord!

How blessed is the one ³⁷  who obeys ³⁸  the Lord,

who takes great delight in keeping his commands. ³⁹ 

Psalms 119:1-5

Psalm 119 ⁴⁰ 

א (Alef)

119:1 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, ⁴¹ 

who obey ⁴²  the law of the Lord.

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

and seek him with all their heart,

119:3 who, moreover, do no wrong,

but follow in his footsteps. ⁴³ 

119:4 You demand that your precepts

be carefully kept. ⁴⁴ 

119:5 If only I were predisposed ⁴⁵ 

to keep your statutes!

Psalms 128:1

Psalm 128 ⁴⁶ 

A song of ascents. ⁴⁷ 

128:1 How blessed is every one of the Lord’s loyal followers, ⁴⁸ 

each one who keeps his commands! ⁴⁹ 

Luke 11:28

11:28 But he replied, ⁵⁰  “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey ⁵¹  it!”

Luke 12:43

12:43 Blessed is that slave ⁵²  whom his master finds at work ⁵³  when he returns.

John 13:17

13:17 If you understand ⁵⁴  these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Revelation 22:14

22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes so they can have access ⁵⁵  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.”

[1:3]  ¹⁴ tn 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “channels of water.”

[1:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “which.”

[1:3]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in v. 3 draw attention to the typical nature of the actions/states they describe.

[1:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “in its season.”

[1:3]  ¹⁹ tn Or “fade”; “wither.”

[1:3]  ²⁰ tn 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.”

[15:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 15. This psalm describes the character qualities that one must possess to be allowed access to the divine presence.

[15:1]  ²² tn Heb “Who may live as a resident alien in your tent?”

[15:1]  ²³ sn In this context the Lord’s holy hill probably refers to Zion/Jerusalem. See Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 43:3; 48:1; 87:1; Dan 9:16.

[15:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “one who walks blamelessly.”

[15:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “one who speaks truth in his heart”; or “one who speaks truth [that is] in his heart.” This apparently refers to formulating a truthful statement in one’s mind and then honestly revealing that statement in one’s speech.

[15:3]  ²⁶ sn Hebrew 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.

[15:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “he does not slander upon his tongue.” For another example of רָגַל (ragal, “slander”) see 2 Sam 19:28.

[15:3]  ²⁸ tn Or “his fellow.”

[15:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and he does not lift up an insult against one who is near to him.”

[15:4]  ³⁰ tn Heb “despised in his eyes [is] a rejected [one].” The Hebrew term נִמְאָס (nim’as, “rejected [one]”) apparently refers here to one who has been rejected by God because of his godless behavior. It stands in contrast to “those who fear God” in the following line.

[15:4]  ³¹ tn Heb “those who fear the Lord.” The one who fears the Lord respects his sovereignty and obeys his commandments. See Ps 128:1; Prov 14:2.

[15:4]  ³² tn Heb “he takes an oath to do harm and does not change.” The phrase “to do harm” cannot mean “do harm to others,” for the preceding verse clearly characterizes this individual as one who does not harm others. In this context the phrase must refer to an oath to which a self-imprecation is attached. The godly individual takes his commitments to others so seriously he is willing to “swear to his own hurt.” For an example of such an oath, see Ruth 1:16-17.

[15:5]  ³³ sn He does not charge interest. Such an individual is truly generous, and not simply concerned with making a profit.

[15:5]  ³⁴ tn Heb “a bribe against the innocent he does not take.” For other texts condemning the practice of a judge or witness taking a bribe, see Exod 23:8; Deut 16:19; 27:25; 1 Sam 8:3; Ezek 22:12; Prov 17:23.

[15:5]  ³⁵ tn Heb “does these things.”

[112:1]  ³⁶ sn Psalm 112. This wisdom psalm lists some of the benefits of living a godly life. The psalm is an acrostic. After the introductory call to praise, every poetic line (twenty-two in all) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[112:1]  ³⁷ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The individual is representative of a larger group, called the “godly” in vv. 3-4. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender specific “man” with the more neutral “one.” The generic masculine pronoun is used in the following verses.

[112:1]  ³⁸ tn Heb “fears.”

[112:1]  ³⁹ tn Heb “in his commands he delights very much.” The words “in keeping” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Taking delight in the law is metonymic here for obeying God’s moral will. See Ps 1:2.

[119:1]  ⁴⁰ 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]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness of those who are blameless of way.”

[119:1]  ⁴² tn Heb “walk in.”

[119:3]  ⁴³ tn Heb “walk in his ways.”

[119:4]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “you, you commanded your precepts, to keep, very much.”

[119:5]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “if only my ways were established.”

[128:1]  ⁴⁶ 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]  ⁴⁷ 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]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “every fearer of the Lord.”

[128:1]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “the one who walks in his ways.”

[11:28]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “said.”

[11:28]  ⁵¹ sn This is another reference to hearing and doing the word of God, which here describes Jesus’ teaching; see Luke 8:21.

[12:43]  ⁵² tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[12:43]  ⁵³ tn That is, doing his job, doing what he is supposed to be doing.

[13:17]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “If you know.”

[22:14]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “so that there will be to them authority over the tree of life.”