Psalms 1:5
in Psalms 1Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
KJV
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
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This verse in Psalms 1
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Therefore - Because they are thus worthless. The ungodly - See the notes at Psa 1:1. The wicked in general; the wicked of any kind or degree. Shall not stand - Compare the notes at Psa 1:1. The idea is, that they will not be found among those who are acquitted by the Judge, and approved by him. The idea seems to be derived from the act of standing up to be tried, or to receive a sentence. In the judgment - The Aramaic Paraphrase renders this, “in the great day” - understanding it of the day of judgment.
This site's exposition
like the chaff which the wind driveth away
on Psalms 1:4-6
The ungodly are not so reverses the tree image at a stroke: chaff has no root, no fruit and no weight, driven by whatever wind passes. The judgment and the congregation of the righteous are two settings closed to the ungodly, a sifting the psalm states as fact rather than threat. The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous closes the psalm on knowledge rather than sentiment, the same two ways the older commentators trace back to Deuteronomy's blessing and curse.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
They will be for ever shut out from the society of the blessed. They shall not stand in the congregation of the righteous, that is, in the judgment (so some), that court wherein the saints, as assessors with Christ, shall judge the world, those holy myriads with which he shall come to execute judgment upon all, Jude 14;
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
They shall stand there to be judged, but not to be acquitted. Fear shall lay hold upon them there; they shall not stand their ground; they shall flee away; they shall not stand in their own defense; for they shall blush and be covered with eternal contempt. Well may the saints long for heaven, for no evil men shall dwell there, "nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous." All our congregations upon earth are mixed. Every Church hath one devil in it. The tares grow in the same furrows as the wheat.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
like chaff An expression of straw, come bale in Old French (comme paille), like straw.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
For the Lord knows the way, etc. Because He knows the way of the righteous, and it is before Him to recognize it constantly; the way of the wicked is hateful to Him, and He removes it from before Him.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַל־ | ʾal- | there- | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֵּ֤ן׀ | ken | -fore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָקֻ֣מוּ | yakumu | they will stand | H6965 → | 628 times |
| רְ֭שָׁעִים | reshaim | wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| בַּמִּשְׁפָּ֑ט | bamishpat | in the judgment | H4941 → | 422 times |
| וְ֝חַטָּאִ֗ים | vechataim | and sinners | H2400 → | 19 times |
| בַּעֲדַ֥ת | baadat | in [the] congregation of | H5712 → | 149 times |
| צַדִּיקִֽים׃ | tzadikim | righteous [people] | H6662 → | 206 times |
עַל־there-
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֵּ֤ן׀-fore
kenH3651 →771 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָקֻ֣מוּthey will stand
yakumuH6965 →628 times
רְ֭שָׁעִיםwicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
בַּמִּשְׁפָּ֑טin the judgment
bamishpatH4941 →422 times
וְ֝חַטָּאִ֗יםand sinners
vechataimH2400 →19 times
בַּעֲדַ֥תin [the] congregation of
baadatH5712 →149 times
צַדִּיקִֽים׃righteous [people]
tzadikimH6662 →206 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Luke 21:36So keep watch at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”
it leads to
- 1 John 2:28
And now, little children, remain in Christ, so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming.
- Matthew 25:13
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
- 1 Peter 5:8
Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- Matthew 24:42
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.
- 1 Peter 4:7
The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and sober, so that you can pray.
- 1 John 2:28
Through
Psalms 5:5The boastful cannot stand in Your presence; You hate all workers of iniquity.
it leads to
- Psalms 11:5
The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked; His soul hates the lover of violence.
- Psalms 11:5
Through
Matthew 25:46And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
it leads to
- Daniel 12:2
And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.
- John 5:29
and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
- Daniel 12:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies6
On this verse
About Psalms
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.