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 31:18

31:18 May lying lips be silenced –

lips ¹⁰  that speak defiantly against the innocent ¹¹ 

with arrogance and contempt!

Mazmur 41:9

41:9 Even my close friend ¹²  whom I trusted,

he who shared meals with me, has turned against me. ¹³ 

Mazmur 44:13

44:13 You made us ¹⁴  an object of disdain to our neighbors;

those who live on our borders taunt and insult us. ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 71:13

71:13 May my accusers be humiliated and defeated!

May those who want to harm me ¹⁶  be covered with scorn and disgrace!

Mazmur 89:51

89:51 Your enemies, O Lord, hurl insults;

they insult your chosen king as they dog his footsteps. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 119:118

119:118 You despise ¹⁸  all who stray from your statutes,

for they are deceptive and unreliable. ¹⁹ 

[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.

[31:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the [ones which].”

[31:18]  ¹¹ tn Or “godly.”

[41:9]  ¹² tn Heb “man of my peace.” The phrase here refers to one’s trusted friend (see Jer 38:22; Obad 7).

[41:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “has made a heel great against me.” The precise meaning of this phrase, which appears only here, is uncertain.

[41:9]  sn The language of this verse is applied to Judas Iscariot in John 13:18.

[44:13]  ¹⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).

[44:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “an [object of] taunting and [of] mockery to those around us.”

[71:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “those who seek my harm.”

[89:51]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “[by] which your enemies, O Lord, taunt, [by] which they taunt [at] the heels of your anointed one.”

[119:118]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew verb סָלָה (salah, “to disdain”) occurs only here and in Lam 1:15. Cognate usage in Aramaic and Akkadian, as well as Lam 1:15, suggest it may have a concrete nuance of “to throw away.”

[119:118]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for their deceit [is] falsehood.”