Psalm 1, rA
The Book of Psalms
BOOK I
Section 1: Saturday Vespers
Division 1:1
Psalm 1 LXX
Μακάριος[1] ἀνήρ,[2] ὃς[3] οὐκ[4] ἐπορεύθη[5] ἐν βουλῇ[6] ἀσεβῶν[7] καὶ ἐν ὁδῷ[8] ἁμαρτωλῶν[9] οὐκ ἔστη[10] καὶ ἐπὶ
καθέδραν[11] λοιμῶν[12] οὐκ ἐκάθισεν[13]. Ἀλλ’[14] ἢ[15] ἐν τῷ
νόμῳ[16] Κυρίου[17] τὸ
θέλημα[18] αὐτοῦ[19], καὶ ἐν
τῷ νόμῳ αὐτοῦ μελετήσει[20] ἡμέρας[21] καὶ
νυκτός[22]. Καὶ ἔσται[23] ὡς[24] τὸ ξύλον[25] τὸ
πεφυτευμένον[26] παρὰ[27] τὰς
διεξόδους[28] τῶν ὑδάτων[29] ὃ τὸν
καρπὸν[30] αὐτοῦ δώσει[31] ἐν καιρῷ[32] αὐτοῦ καὶ
τὸ φύλλον[33] αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἀπορρυήσεται,[34] καὶ
πάντα[35] ὅσα[36] ἂν[37] ποιῇ[38]
κατευοδωθήσεται[39].
Οὐχ οὕτως[40] οἱ ἀσεβεῖς[41] οὐχ οὕτως,
ἀλλ’ ἢ ὡσεὶ[42] χνοῦς[43] ὃν[44] ἐκριπτεῖ[45] ὁ ἄνεμος[46] ἀπὸ[47] προσώπου[48] τῆς γῆς[49]. Διὰ[50] τοῦτο[51] οὐκ ἀναστήσονται[52] ἀσεβεῖς ἐν
κρίσει[53] οὐδὲ[54] ἁμαρτωλοὶ[55] ἐν βουλῇ
δικαίων[56]. Ὅτι[57] γινώσκει[58] Κύριος[59] ὁδὸν[60] δικαίων, καὶ ὁδὸς[61] ἀσεβῶν ἀπολεῖται[62].
http://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/septuagint/chapter.asp?book=24&page=1
http://biblehub.com/sepd/psalms/1.htm
All Greek notes are derived from the
following authoritative resources:
AGL: The Analytical Greek Lexicon
(Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1973)
Dana, H. E. and J. R. Mantey, A
Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament (Macmillan, Toronto, 1957)
Psalm 1 Translation
Blessed [is the] man who does not follow
[the] wishes of [the] wicked.
In [the] path of evil doers, he stands not. On the seat of [the] trouble makers,
he sits not. But, his will [is] in the law of [the] Lord. On His law, he meditates
day and night. He is like the tree,
planted beside the water’s paths, who gives his fruit in his time. His leaf [is] not ripped away. Everything he does follows the good path.
Not so, the wicked, not so: but [are] as if dust, which the wind rips out
from the face of the earth. Through
this, [the] wicked do not stand up in [the] judgment, nor sinners
in [the] wishes of [the] righteous. Because [the] Lord knows, [the] path of [the] righteous. [The] path of [the] wicked
perishes.
Commentary
The Blessed Man, Jesus Christ is set in
diametrical opposition to wicked sinners, the children of Adam. “Not so, the wicked, not so:” the psalmist
exclaims. The wicked simply perish, but
the declaration, shall, is applied to the blessed righteous, Jesus, with all
who are in Him.
Path is repeated four times, making it also
emphatic. Greek amplifies the path
emphasis by using it to describe the motion of water and the outcome of Godly
behavior. Path is about the habitual persistent
lifestyle and world view that results from faith in God’s Law as expressed in
the Pentateuch, and resultant quest to do God’s will. Only Jesus, the second Adam accomplishes
these things. We receive them and are
obedient to them as gifts of His grace.
This is called the good path.
This psalm sees Law and Gospel or grace, not
as opposing tensions, but as the same thing.
The Blessed Man sets His will or delight in the Torah of יהוה. Only Jesus has the
power to accomplish this, but faith walks with Jesus in love: these are termed,
the righteous. To obey the Gospel is to
obey the Law, Torah.
On the other hand, wicked sinners are
confronted with a grim and terrifying prospect.
Having habitually and persistently committed themselves to war with God,
they can anticipate only death. Having
refused the water of life, they throw their leaves to the ground in rigor
mortis. They experience a kind of
resurrection but know nothing of its beautiful blessedness. They have no one to blame but themselves. They perish.
To walk with is to follow the crowd, to go
along with the popular, to move with the herd, to accept the status quo. To stand is to adopt a lifestyle, to accept a
corrupted anti-God, anti-Christ worldview.
To sit is to assume a position of authority. Kings and judges sit when they rule. Rabbis sit when they teach. The wicked, in their limited way, run this
world. Yes, some of our own leaders are
a pestilence on humanity.
Jesus of Nazareth is the healing cure. He wrote the Law. He fulfilled the Law. He is the complete and express embodiment of
the Law. It is possible for us to be in
Him, and thus embrace the Law in love. It
is possible for us to build on the foundation of the Law, not being under its
curse by works of the Law. He brings us
the waters of the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit sets our will and meditation on God’s Law, strengthens our leaves, makes
us fruitful, and establishes us in the good path.
We also see in this Psalm the beginning of
one of the major themes of Psalms. It is
in part an ode to the Law of God. It is
not accidental that there are five books of Psalms: not that there is a
one-to-one correspondence with Torah, but the connection exists. Both Torah and Psalms may be referred to as
the five books, and the reader is left with the puzzle, which of the sets of
five books is meant?
[2] ἀνήρ Masculine nominative singular noun ἀνήρ, ἀνδρόϛ, ὁ:
adult male, individual, having the characteristics of bravery or
manliness. In this context, a person of
either sex having the characteristics of perfect humanity: Jesus, or like
Jesus, the second Adam, rather than the first Adam.
[5] ἐπορεύθη Aorist indicative active, third singular of πορεύομαι: pours: with or without particular direction, usually with a
sense of power or urgency: run, surges; hence, hurries, rushes, scurries, walks,
follows, pursues, with a wide range of nuances appropriate to the object in
motion in the context.
[6] βουλῇ Feminine dative singular noun βουλή, ῆϛ, ἡ from βούλομαι:
advice, choice, counsel, decree, desire, determination, direction, intention,
order, pleasure, purpose, will, wish.
[7] ἀσεβῶν Masculine genitive plural noun or adjective ἀσεβήϛ,
έοϛ,
οῦϛ,
ὁ,
ἡ,
τό,
-έϛ: impious, ungodly, wicked.
[8] ὁδῷ Feminine dative singular noun ὁδόϛ, οῦ, ἡ: way, road,
direction, course (of action), system (of doctrine).
[9] ἁμαρτωλῶν Genitive plural noun ἁμαρτωλόϛ, οῦ, ὁ, ἡ from ἁμαρτάνω:
miss a mark, err, offend, sin, sinners.
[10] ἔστη Aorist indicative active, third singular of ἵστημι: confirms,
endures, establishes, stands, persists.
Not passively blocking the path or way, but actively and tenaciously
adhering to its principles or persisting in its pursuit. Here it speaks of a stubbornness of behavior
and attitude against the Lord.
[13] ἐκάθισεν Aorist indicative active, third singular of καθίζω: sits. To sit is to assume the place of authority,
to rule or to teach.
[14] ἀλλ’ Conjunction,
the contraction of ἀλλά: but, except, however, unless,
also serves to introduce a sentence with keenness and emphasis — for!
[16] νόμῳ Masculine dative singular noun νόμος,
ου,
ὁ: law, specifically the Mosaic law in this context.
[17] Κυρίου Masculine genitive singular
noun κύριος, ίου, ὁ: lord, master, the name of God, The
Tetragrammaton, יהוה, which was too sacred to pronounce, hence spoken as
Adonai, or Lord.
[18] θέλημα Neuter nominative singular noun θέλημα,
ατος,
τό from θέλω: chose, intend, design, pleasure, desire, will.
[19] αὐτοῦ Masculine or neuter genitive singular reflexive pronoun αὐτόϛ, ή, ό: here used
as a third person possessive pronoun, his.
[20] μελετήσει Future indicative active, third singular of μελετάω:
to give careful or painful attention, study, meditate.
[21] ἡμέρας Feminine genitive singular noun ἡμέρα,
ας, ἡ:
day, the period of sunlight, or the whole twenty-four hours.
[25] ξύλον Neuter nominative singular noun ξύλον, ου, τό: wood,
timber, stocks, club, post, cross, tree.
[26] πεφυτευμένον Perfect passive participle, masculine accusative
singular from φυτεύω, φύω:
plant, having been planted.
[27] παρὰ Preposition παρὰ: before genitives,
from; datives, at, with, by, near, in, among; accusatives (motion) at, by,
near, along; comparatives, except, etc.; beside, alongside of.
[28] διεξόδους Feminine accusative plural noun διέξοδος, οῦ, ἡ, a
contraction of δια + έξ + οδος: out of the through path, the through source
path, passage, road, stream. The
connection with ὁδόϛ
must not be overlooked.
[30] καρπὸν Masculine accusative singular
noun καρπός, ου, ὁ: offspring, posterity, fruit, spiritual fruit.
[32] καιρῷ Masculine dative singular noun καιρός,
οῦ,
ὁ: a fit or suitable time or place, period of time, opportune, season, time.
[34] ἀπορρυήσεται Future indicative middle, third singular of ἀπορέω,
ἀπορρέω,
or ἀπορρίπτω,
a contraction of ἀπο + ῥίπτω, see also ῥύπτος, a closely related noun: to
cast off, throw away, fade wilt, fall, drop.
The idea is active not passive.
The tree throws its leaves away; they do not drop by accident, but
rather by design.
[36] ὅσα Neuter nominative and accusative plural correlative
pronoun ὅσος,
η,
ον: as great, as much, as many, whoever, whatever.
[39] κατευοδωθήσεται Future indicative passive, third singular of κατευοδόω, a contraction of κατα + ευ + οδόω: to
follow a good path, descend from a good path, prosper. The connection with ὁδόϛ is again self-evident.
[41] ἀσεβεῖς Masculine nominative and
accusative plural adjective ἀσεβήϛ, έοϛ, οῦϛ, ὁ, ἡ, τό, -έϛ:
impious, ungodly, wicked, the wicked as a class of people.
[42] ὡσεὶ Both Rahlfs and Bible Hub have ὡς ὁ; ὡσεὶ (as if) clarifies the surreal nature
of the similitude: as if the wicked were worthless dust, rather than, as the
worthless dust.
[43] χνοῦς Masculine nominative singular
noun χνοῦς, ὁ: scrapings, shavings, down, fruit blossom, cushion
stuffing, sea spray; anything light, fluffy, or easily wind borne; anything
worthless.
[45] ἐκριπτεῖ Present indicative active, third singular of ἐκρίπτω,
a contraction of ἐκ + ῥίπτω: to cast out.
[46] ἄνεμος Masculine nominative singular
noun ἄνεμος, ου, ὁ: wind, specifically distinct from πνεῦμα, breath and
spirit
[47] ἀπὸ Preposition ἀπὸ: ablative in concept, indicating
departure or separation, source, material, agency, instrument, from, here –
away from.
[50] διὰ Preposition διά:
by means of, with, by; with a genitive indicating direct agency, action, or
instrument; with an accusative indicating indirect agency, etc.; through.
[51] τοῦτο Neuter nominative and accusative singular demonstrative
pronoun οὗτος, αὕτη, τοῦτο: possibly contemptuous, this, that.
[52] ἀναστήσονται Future indicative middle, third plural of ἀνίστημι, a contraction
of ἀνά + ἵστημι: to stand up or arise, to resurrect. The connection with the resurrection of
Christ is inescapable. The wicked, who
have lived their lives in self-will against God, will not be able to lift
themselves up now.
[55] ἁμαρτωλοὶ Nominative plural noun ἁμαρτωλόϛ, οῦ, ὁ, ἡ from ἁμαρτάνω:
miss a mark, err, offend, sin, sinners, the sinners as a class of
people.
[56] δικαίων Genitive plural adjective δίκαιος, αία, αιον from δίκη: just, righteous, nominally the righteous as
a class of people.
[58] γινώσκει Present indicative active, third singular of γινώσκω:
know, here in the sense of intimate personal involvement. It is the causative agency of the Holy Spirit
that makes people righteous.
[59] Κύριος Masculine nominative singular noun κύριος, ίου, ὁ:
lord, master, the name of God, The Tetragrammaton, יהוה, which was too
sacred to pronounce, hence spoken as Adonai, or Lord, κύριος.
[60] ὁδὸν
Feminine accusative singular noun ὁδόϛ, οῦ, ἡ: way, road,
direction, course (of action), system (of doctrine).
[61] ὁδὸς
Feminine nominative singular noun ὁδόϛ, οῦ, ἡ: way, road,
direction, course (of action), system (of doctrine).
[62] ἀπολεῖται Future indicative middle, third singular of ἀπόλλυμι, a
contraction of ἀπό + ὄλλυμι: to destroy away: annihilate, cease to exist, destroy,
kill, obliterate, perish, put to death, ruin: self-destruct (middle).
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