Old Testament

Psalms
Psalms is the prayer book and hymnbook of the Bible. Most of the psalms were written by David and his contemporaries about 1000 BC. One was written by Moses in about 1400 BC, and a few may have been written in the 6th century BC.
The 150 psalms were carefully arranged into five books by the compiler of Psalms. Headings have been added to the translation to identify these five books of Psalms.
In this arrangement, the psalms often have thematic relationships with their neighboring psalms. The captions that indicate some of these relationships have been added to the individual psalms by the translator. The headings to the psalms are part of the Hebrew text of Psalms.
BOOK I: PSALMS 1–41
Psalm 1
Two Responses to God's Word
The Way of the Godly Leads to Blessing
1How blessed is the man
who does not walk in the advice of the wicked,
who does not stand on the path with sinners,
and who does not sit in a meeting with mockers.
2But his delight is in the teaching[] of the Lord,
and on his teaching he meditates day and night.
3He is like a tree planted beside streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season,
and its leaves do not wither.
Everything he does prospers.
The Way of the Ungodly Leads to Destruction
4Not so the wicked!
No, they are like the chaff which the wind blows away.
5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
Conclusion
6Yes, the Lord approves[] of the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Footnotes

  • 1:2 The Hebrew torah is traditionally translated law, but the term torah also includes other types of instruction besides legal regulations, so here it is translated with the more general term teaching.
  • 1:6 Literally knows