Psalms 1:1

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 

Psalms 18:43

18:43 You rescue me from a hostile army; ¹⁰ 

you make me ¹¹  a leader of nations;

people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects. ¹² 

Psalms 22:14

22:14 My strength drains away like water; ¹³ 

all my bones are dislocated;

my heart ¹⁴  is like wax;

it melts away inside me.

Psalms 31:17

31:17 O Lord, do not let me be humiliated,

for I call out to you!

May evil men be humiliated!

May they go wailing to the grave! ¹⁵ 

Psalms 41:6

41:6 When someone comes to visit, ¹⁶  he pretends to be friendly; ¹⁷ 

he thinks of ways to defame me, ¹⁸ 

and when he leaves he slanders me. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 61:2

61:2 From the most remote place on earth ²⁰ 

I call out to you in my despair. ²¹ 

Lead me ²²  up to an inaccessible rocky summit! ²³ 

Psalms 65:8

65:8 Even those living in the most remote areas are awestruck by your acts; ²⁴ 

you cause those living in the east and west to praise you. ²⁵ 

Psalms 74:2

74:2 Remember your people ²⁶  whom you acquired in ancient times,

whom you rescued ²⁷  so they could be your very own nation, ²⁸ 

as well as Mount Zion, where you dwell!

Psalms 78:55

78:55 He drove the nations out from before them;

he assigned them their tribal allotments ²⁹ 

and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down. ³⁰ 

Psalms 91:14

91:14 The Lord says, ³¹ 

“Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him;

I will protect him ³²  because he is loyal to me. ³³ 

Psalms 139:15

139:15 my bones were not hidden from you,

when ³⁴  I was made in secret

and sewed together in the depths of the earth. ³⁵ 

Psalms 140:5

140:5 Proud men hide a snare for me;

evil men ³⁶  spread a net by the path;

they set traps for me. (Selah)

Psalms 142:3-4

142:3 Even when my strength leaves me, ³⁷ 

you watch my footsteps. ³⁸ 

In the path where I walk

they have hidden a trap for me.

142:4 Look to the right and see!

No one cares about me. ³⁹ 

I have nowhere to run; ⁴⁰ 

no one is concerned about my life. ⁴¹ 

Psalms 144:14

144:14 Our cattle will be weighted down with produce. ⁴² 

No one will break through our walls,

no one will be taken captive,

and there will be no terrified cries in our city squares. ⁴³ 

[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.

[18:43]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from the strivings of a people.” In this context the Hebrew term רִיב (riv, “striving”) probably has a militaristic sense (as in Judg 12:2; Isa 41:11), and עָם (’am, “people”) probably refers more specifically to an army (for other examples, see the verses listed in BDB 766 s.v. I עַם, עָם 2.d). Some understand the phrase as referring to attacks by the psalmist’s own countrymen, the “nation” being Israel. However, foreign enemies appear to be in view; note the reference to “nations” in the following line.

[18:43]  ¹¹ tn 2 Sam 22:44 reads, “you keep me.”

[18:43]  ¹² tn Heb “a people whom I did not know serve me.” In this context “know” (יָדַע, yada’) probably refers to formal recognition by treaty. People who were once not under the psalmist’s authority now willingly submit to his rulership to avoid being conquered militarily (see vv. 44-45). The language may recall the events recorded in 2 Sam 8:9-10 and 10:19.

[22:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “like water I am poured out.”

[22:14]  ²⁰ sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s strength and courage.

[31:17]  ²⁸ tn The verb יִדְּמוּ (yiddÿmu) is understood as a form of דָּמַם (damam, “wail, lament”). Another option is to take the verb from דָּמַם (“be quiet”; see BDB 198-99 s.v. I דָּמַם), in which case one might translate, “May they lie silent in the grave.”

[41:6]  ³⁷ tn Heb “to see.”

[41:6]  ³⁸ tn Heb “he speaks deceitfully.”

[41:6]  ³⁹ tn Heb “his heart gathers sin to itself.”

[41:6]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “he goes outside and speaks.”

[61:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “from the end of the earth.” This may indicate (1) the psalmist is exiled in a distant land, or (2) it may be hyperbolic (the psalmist feels alienated from God’s presence, as if he were in a distant land).

[61:2]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “while my heart faints.”

[61:2]  ⁴⁸ tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.

[61:2]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “on to a rocky summit [that] is higher than I.”

[65:8]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “and the inhabitants of the ends fear because of your signs.” God’s “signs” are the “awesome acts” (see v. 5) he performs in the earth.

[65:8]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “the goings out of the morning and the evening you cause to shout for joy.” The phrase “goings out of the morning and evening” refers to the sunrise and sunset, that is, the east and the west.

[74:2]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “your assembly,” which pictures God’s people as an assembled community.

[74:2]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “redeemed.” The verb “redeem” casts God in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Ps 19:14).

[74:2]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “the tribe of your inheritance” (see Jer 10:16; 51:19).

[78:55]  ⁷³ tn Heb “he caused to fall [to] them with a measuring line an inheritance.”

[78:55]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “and caused the tribes of Israel to settle down in their tents.”

[91:14]  ⁸² tn The words “the Lord says” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the words which follow are the Lord’s oracle of assurance.

[91:14]  ⁸³ tn Or “make him secure” (Heb “set him on high”).

[91:14]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “because he knows my name” (see Ps 9:10).

[139:15]  ⁹¹ tc The Hebrew term אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) should probably be emended to כֲּאַשֶׁר (ka’asher, “when”). The kaf (כ) may have been lost by haplography (note the kaf at the end of the preceding form).

[139:15]  ⁹² sn The phrase depths of the earth may be metaphorical (euphemistic) or it may reflect a prescientific belief about the origins of the embryo deep beneath the earth’s surface (see H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 96-97). Job 1:21 also closely associates the mother’s womb with the earth.

[140:5]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “and ropes,” but many prefer to revocalize the noun as a participle (חֹבְלִים, khovÿlim) from the verb חָבַל (khaval, “act corruptly”).

[142:3]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.”

[142:3]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “you know my path.”

[142:4]  ¹¹⁸ tn Heb “there is no one who recognizes me.”

[142:4]  ¹¹⁹ tn Heb “ a place of refuge perishes from me.”

[142:4]  ¹²⁰ tn Heb “there is no one who seeks for the sake of my life.”

[144:14]  ¹²⁷ tn Heb “weighted down.” This probably refers (1) to the cattle having the produce from the harvest placed on their backs to be transported to the storehouses (see BDB 687 s.v. סָבַל). Other options are (2) to take this as reference to the cattle being pregnant (see HALOT 741 s.v. סבל pu) or (3) to their being well-fed or fattened (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 288).

[144:14]  ¹²⁸ tn Heb “there [will be] no breach, and there [will be] no going out, and there [will be] no crying out in our broad places.”