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 22:24

22:24 For he did not despise or detest the suffering ¹⁰  of the oppressed; ¹¹ 

he did not ignore him; ¹² 

when he cried out to him, he responded. ¹³ 

Mazmur 27:9

27:9 Do not reject me! ¹⁴ 

Do not push your servant away in anger!

You are my deliverer! ¹⁵ 

Do not forsake or abandon me,

O God who vindicates me!

Mazmur 44:18

44:18 We have not been unfaithful, ¹⁶ 

nor have we disobeyed your commands. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 55:19

55:19 God, the one who has reigned as king from long ago,

will hear and humiliate them. ¹⁸  (Selah)

They refuse to change,

and do not fear God. ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 62:10

62:10 Do not trust in what you can gain by oppression! ²⁰ 

Do not put false confidence in what you can gain by robbery! ²¹ 

If wealth increases, do not become attached to it! ²² 

Mazmur 69:15

69:15 Don’t let the current overpower me!

Don’t let the deep swallow me up!

Don’t let the pit ²³  devour me! ²⁴ 

Mazmur 69:31

69:31 That will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull

with horns and hooves.

Mazmur 142:4

142:4 Look to the right and see!

No one cares about me. ²⁵ 

I have nowhere to run; ²⁶ 

no one is concerned about my life. ²⁷ 

[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.

[22:24]  ¹⁰ tn Or “affliction”; or “need.”

[22:24]  ¹¹ sn In this verse the psalmist refers to himself in the third person and characterizes himself as oppressed.

[22:24]  ¹² tn Heb “he did not hide his face from him.” For other uses of the idiom “hide the face” meaning “ignore,” see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9. Sometimes the idiom carries the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 27:9; 88:14).

[22:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “heard.”

[27:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).

[27:9]  ¹⁵ tn Or “[source of] help.”

[44:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “our heart did not turn backward.” Cf. Ps 78:57.

[44:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and our steps did [not] turn aside from your path.” The negative particle is understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line). God’s “path” refers to his commands, i.e., the moral pathway he has prescribed for the psalmist. See Pss 17:5; 25:4.

[55:19]  ¹⁸ tc Heb “God will hear and answer them, even [the] one who sits [from] ancient times.” The prefixed verbal from with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the anticipatory force of the preceding imperfect. The verb appears to be a Qal form from עָנָה (’anah, “to answer”). If this reading is retained, the point would be that God “answered” them in judgment. The translation assumes an emendation to the Piel וַיְעַנֵּם (vay’annem; see 2 Kgs 17:20) and understands the root as עָנָה (’anah, “to afflict”; see also 1 Kgs 8:35).

[55:19]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “[the ones] for whom there are no changes, and they do not fear God.”

[62:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “do not trust in oppression.” Here “oppression” stands by metonymy for the riches that can be gained by oppressive measures, as the final line of the verse indicates.

[62:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “and in robbery do not place vain hope.” Here “robbery” stands by metonymy for the riches that can be gained by theft, as the next line of the verse indicates.

[62:10]  ²² tn Heb “[as for] wealth, when it bears fruit, do not set [your] heart [on it].”

[69:15]  ²³ tn Heb “well,” which here symbolizes the place of the dead (cf. Ps 55:23).

[69:15]  ²⁴ tn Heb “do not let the well close its mouth upon me.”

[142:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “there is no one who recognizes me.”

[142:4]  ²⁶ tn Heb “ a place of refuge perishes from me.”

[142:4]  ²⁷ tn Heb “there is no one who seeks for the sake of my life.”