Mazmur 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 

Mazmur 16:7

16:7 I will praise ¹⁰  the Lord who ¹¹  guides ¹²  me;

yes, during the night I reflect and learn. ¹³ 

Mazmur 19:11

19:11 Yes, your servant finds moral guidance there; ¹⁴ 

those who obey them receive a rich reward. ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 32:8

32:8 I will instruct and teach you ¹⁶  about how you should live. ¹⁷ 

I will advise you as I look you in the eye. ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 37:30

37:30 The godly speak wise words

and promote justice. ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 45:10

45:10 Listen, O princess! ²⁰ 

Observe and pay attention! ²¹ 

Forget your homeland ²²  and your family! ²³ 

Mazmur 73:24

73:24 You guide ²⁴  me by your wise advice,

and then you will lead me to a position of honor. ²⁵ 

Mazmur 81:8

81:8 I said, ²⁶  ‘Listen, my people!

I will warn ²⁷  you!

O Israel, if only you would obey me! ²⁸ 

Mazmur 94:10

94:10 Does the one who disciplines the nations not punish?

He is the one who imparts knowledge to human beings!

Mazmur 105:22

105:22 giving him authority to imprison his officials ²⁹ 

and to teach his advisers. ³⁰ 

Mazmur 106:13

106:13 They quickly forgot what he had done; ³¹ 

they did not wait for his instructions. ³² 

Mazmur 107:11

107:11 because they had rebelled against God’s commands, ³³ 

and rejected the instructions of the sovereign king. ³⁴ 

Mazmur 119:24

119:24 Yes, I find delight in your rules;

they give me guidance. ³⁵ 

[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.

[16:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “bless,” that is, “proclaim as worthy of praise.”

[16:7]  ¹¹ tn Or “because.”

[16:7]  ¹² tn Or “counsels, advises.”

[16:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “yes, [during] nights my kidneys instruct [or “correct”] me.” The “kidneys” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s moral character (see Ps 26:2). In the quiet darkness the Lord speaks to his inner being, as it were, and enables him to grow in moral understanding.

[19:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “moreover your servant is warned by them.”

[19:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in the keeping of them [there is] a great reward.”

[32:8]  ¹⁶ tn The second person pronominal forms in this verse are singular. The psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually (see also the note on the word “eye” in the next line). A less likely option (but one which is commonly understood) is that the Lord addresses the psalmist in vv. 8-9 (cf. NASB “I will instruct you and teach you…I will counsel you with My eye upon you”).

[32:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I will instruct you and I will teach you in the way [in] which you should walk.”

[32:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I will advise, upon you my eye,” that is, “I will offer advice [with] my eye upon you.” In 2 Chr 20:12 the statement “our eye is upon you” means that the speakers are looking to the Lord for intervention. Here the expression “my eye upon you” may simply mean that the psalmist will teach his pupils directly and personally.

[37:30]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “The mouth of the godly [one] utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.” The singular form is used in a representative sense; the typical godly individual is in view. The imperfect verbal forms draw attention to the characteristic behavior of the godly.

[45:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “daughter.” The Hebrew noun בת (“daughter”) can sometimes refer to a young woman in a general sense (see H. Haag, TDOT 2:334).

[45:10]  sn Listen, O princess. The poet now addresses the bride.

[45:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “see and turn your ear.” The verb רָאָה (ra’ah, “see”) is used here of mental observation.

[45:10]  ²² tn Heb “your people.” This reference to the “people” of the princess suggests she was a foreigner. Perhaps the marriage was arranged as part of a political alliance between Israel (or Judah) and a neighboring state. The translation “your homeland” reflects such a situation.

[45:10]  ²³ tn Heb “and the house of your father.”

[73:24]  ²⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form here suggests this is the psalmist’s ongoing experience.

[73:24]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and afterward [to] glory you will take me.” Some interpreters view this as the psalmist’s confidence in an afterlife in God’s presence and understand כָּבוֹד (cavod) as a metonymic reference to God’s presence in heaven. But this seems unlikely in the present context. The psalmist anticipates a time of vindication, when the wicked are destroyed and he is honored by God for his godly life style. The verb לָקַח (laqakh, “take”) here carries the nuance “lead, guide, conduct,” as in Num 23:14, 27-28; Josh 24:3 and Prov 24:11.

[81:8]  ²⁶ tn The words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Verses 8-10 appear to recall what the Lord commanded the generation of Israelites that experienced the events described in v. 7. Note the statement in v. 11, “my people did not listen to me.”

[81:8]  ²⁷ tn Or perhaps “command.”

[81:8]  ²⁸ tn The Hebrew particle אִם (“if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (GKC 321 §109.b). Note that the apodosis (the “then” clause of the conditional sentence) is suppressed.

[105:22]  ²⁹ tn Heb “to bind his officials by his will.”

[105:22]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and his elders he taught wisdom.”

[106:13]  ³¹ tn Heb “his works.”

[106:13]  ³² tn Heb “his counsel.”

[107:11]  ³³ tn Heb “the words of God.”

[107:11]  ³⁴ tn Heb “the counsel of the Most High.”

[119:24]  ³⁵ tn Heb “men of my counsel.” That is, God’s rules are like advisers to the psalmist, for they teach him how to live in a godly manner that refutes the accusations of his enemies.