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Nazarene Commentary 2000©

21^st Century Paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures© –
21^st Century Version of the Christian Scriptures© [NCMM]

PSALMS (1-24, 26)

BOOK 1
PSALM 1:
BLESSED READERS

PS1:1 O how blessed is the person 1 who has not walked in the counsel of the lawless 2! And has not stood in the way 3 of sinners. And has not sat in the seat of scoffers. 4

1	Person: Two types of people are described in this Psalm: the law-abiding and the law-breaking.

2	Lawless: Or, ungodly, wicked, irreverent. The blessed person here does not listen or direct life’s steps by the advice of the lawless.

3	Stood in the way: Or, loiter, walk, tread. The law-abiding [righteous] do not walk with the law-breakers.

4	Seat of scoffers: Or, company of mockers, scornful, insolent. The law-abiding do not sit in the company of the law-breakers.

PS1:2 Instead their delight 5 is in the Law of Yehowah. 6 And day and night they read 7 from His law.

5	Delight: Or, joy, pleasure. The righteous or law-abiding are identified by “great pleasure” [HAR] in God’s Word.

6	Law of Yehowah: The word “law” occurs upwards of 40 times and synonyms many times more. The Nazarene viewed the Law as something larger than the Jewish Torah for he includes the Psalms in the word. The Divine Name [noma sagrada] or Tetragram YHWH occurs over 800 times.

7

They read: Or, meditate, talk with himself, read aloud, recites, study, pours over. This is not a casual reader, but one whose delight is manifest in reading day and night and then meditating on what has been considered. Only a very few people in ancient Israel, or during the early Christian Church, possessed copies of the Law. They had to hear the Law read and this required good concentration followed by memorization.

PS1:3 They will become like a tree planted by streams of water. 8 They produce 9 their fruitage in season. And their leaf never withers. Whatever they do will be successful. 10

8	A tree planted by streams of water: The law-abiding reader is the tree planted by the waters of the Law. It is constantly saturated and supplied with what it needs to grow and survive.

9	Produce: Evidence that one reads and keeps the Law is manifest in a godly fruitage.

10	Successful: Or, prosper, matures, do well.

PS1:4 This is not so with the lawless. 11 They are like chaff 12 driven by the wind.

11	Lawless: Or, irreverent, ungodly, wicked. The person who does not read or obey the law – a habitual breaker of the law as a natural course in life.

12	Chaff: In the end the lawless will vanish into extinction.

PS1:5 For this reason the lawless will never endure 13 in the Judgment. Nor will sinners stand in the Assembly 14 of the Law-abiding.

13	Never endure: Or, not stand. All humanity will be judged by the Judge of all the earth. [Ecclesiastes 12:14; Matthew 12:35-37; Acts 17:31; Hebrews 9:26;Revelation 20:12-14]

14	Assembly: Or, congregation, community, reunion.

PS1:6 For Yehowah recognizes 15 the way of the law-abiding. But the way of the lawless will disappear. 16

15	Recognizes: Or, acknowledge, watches over.

16	Disappear: Or, perish, doomed, ruin. Because they like chaff will vanish on the winds.