Psalm 1

1 Blessed are those
who do not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,

2 but who delight in the law of the Lord
and meditate on his law day and night.

3 They are like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.

4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will be destroyed.

PSALMS 1

BOOK I

(Psalms 1–41)

The Way to Happiness

1 God blesses those people
who refuse evil advice
and won't follow sinners
or join in sneering at God.

2 Instead, they find happiness
in the Teaching of the [Lord],
and they think about it
day and night.

3  t They are like trees
growing beside a stream,
trees that produce
fruit in season
and always have leaves.
Those people succeed
in everything they do.

4 That isn't true of those
who are evil—
they are like straw
blown by the wind.

5 Sinners won't have an excuse
on the day of judgment,
and they won't have a place
with the people of God.

6 The [Lord] protects everyone
who follows him,
but the wicked follow a road
that leads to ruin.