Psalms 1:4

Psalms 1:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
• New International Version (NIV)Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

Context of Psalms 1:4

2But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. 3They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. 5They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly. 6For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

Psalms 1:4 word by word

לֹא־כֵ֥ן הָרְשָׁעִ֑ים כִּ֥י אִם־כַּ֝מֹּ֗ץ אֲֽשֶׁר־תִּדְּפֶ֥נּוּ רֽוּחַ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The ungodlyרָשָׁעrâshâ‛ · wickedH7563
• like the chaffמוֹץmôts môts · chaffH4671
• which the windרוּחַrûach · spirit: breathH7307
• driveth awayנָדַףnâdaph · to driveH5086

Cross-references for Psalms 1:4

• Psalms 35:5Blow them away like chaff in the wind— a wind sent by the angel of the Lord.
• Job 21:18Are they driven before the wind like straw? Are they carried away by the storm like chaff? Not at all!
• Isaiah 17:13But though they thunder like breakers on a beach, God will silence them, and they will run away. They will flee like chaff scattered by the wind, like a tumbleweed whirling before a storm.
• Isaiah 29:5“But suddenly, your ruthless enemies will be crushed like the finest of dust. Your many attackers will be driven away like chaff before the wind. Suddenly, in an instant,
• Hosea 13:3Therefore, they will disappear like the morning mist, like dew in the morning sun, like chaff blown by the wind, like smoke from a chimney.
• Matthew 3:12He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”

Commentaries on Psalms 1:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4The ungodly are not so - The Vulgate and Septuagint, and the versions made from them, such as the Ethiopic and Arabic, double the last negation, and add a clause to the end of the verse, "Not so the ungodly, not so; they shall be like the dust which the wind scatters away from the face of the earth." There is nothing solid in the men; there is nothing good in their ways. They are not of God's planting; they are not good grain; they are only chaff, and a…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4The ungodly are not so - literally, “Not thus the wicked.” For the word ungodly, see the notes at Psalm 1:1. The statement that the “wicked are not so,” is a general statement applicable alike to their character and destiny, though the mind of the author of the psalm is fixed immediately and particularly on the difference in their destiny, without specifying anything particularly respecting their character. It is as true, however, that the ungodly do walk…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-6Verses 4-6 The ungodly are the reverse of the righteous, both in character and condition. The ungodly are not so, ver. 4; they are led by the counsel of the wicked, in the way of sinners, to the seat of the scornful; they have no delight in the law of God; they bring forth no fruit but what is evil. The righteous are like useful, fruitful trees: the ungodly are like the chaff which the wind drives away: the dust which the owner of the floor desires to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The future judgment (Psalm 1:5) will remove the wicked and everything they have done (Psalms 35:5; 83:13; Isaiah 17:13; see study note on Jeremiah 13:24).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. not so--either as to conduct or happiness. like the chaff--which, by Eastern modes of winnowing against the wind, was utterly blown away.Read the comment

Topics related to Psalms 1:4

• Chaff
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Chaff
• Consent
• Delight
• Meditate
• Offer
• Partaker
• Testify
• Bible, the
• Death
• Good, Chief

Commentaries on Psalms 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• The Treasury of David
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings