Psalm 1 verse 7 - God knows us

The final verse of Psalm 1 takes us back to God's care for us.

7.	V/NV/JH/OR	Quoniam novit dominus viam iustorum; et iter impiorum peribit.
		ὅτι γινώσκει κύριος ὁδὸν δικαίων καὶ ὁδὸς ἀσεβῶν ἀπολεῖται

Quoniam (for) novit (he knows, perfect tense) Dominus (the Lord) viam (the way) iustorum (of the just); et (and) iter (the way) impiorum (of the wicked) peribit (it will perish).

  

nosco, novi, notum, ere 3 to know, to be acquainted with; to know, regard with approbation; approve

iter, ltineris, n., way, journey:

pereo, li, ltum, ire, to perish, come to naught, be lost; to stray, be lost.

DR	For the Lord knows the way of the just: and the way of the wicked shall perish.
Brenton	For the Lord knows the way of the righteous; but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
MD	For the Lord knoweth the way of the just, but the way of the wicked shall end in ruin.
RSV	for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Cover	But the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous; and the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Knox	They walk, the just, under the Lord’s protection; the path of the wicked, how soon is it lost to sight!
Grail	for the Lord guards the way of the just but the way of the wicked leads to doom.

The idea of God 'knowing' the righteous is an important one, alluded in several other psalms. It is not, of course, that God does not see the evil-doer.

Several of the Fathers, including St Hilary, see this verse as alluding to the contrasting treatment by God of Adam and Abraham:

...For it was said to Adam when he had sinned: Adam, where are you? Not because God knew not that the man whom He still had in the garden was there still, but to show, by his being asked where he was, that he was unworthy of God's knowledge by the fact of having sinned. 

But Abraham, after being for a long time unknown— the word of God came to him when he was seventy years of age— was, upon his proving himself faithful to the Lord, admitted to intimacy with God by the following act of high condescension: Now I know that you fear the Lord your God, and for My sake you have not spared your dearly loved son...

In essence, then, God knowing the ways of the just means that he recognises and approves of their actions.

The verse though, is not (just) a statement of approbation for the just and condemnation of the wicked, but rather a call to repentance, as St Augustine's New Testament spin on it makes clear:

 As it is said, medicine knows health, but knows not disease, and yet disease is recognised by the art of medicine. In like manner can it be said that "the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous," but the way of the ungodly He knoweth not. Not that the Lord is ignorant of anything, and yet He says to sinners, "I never knew you." 

Vulgate	Douay Rheims translation
Beátus vir, qui non ábiit in consílio impiórum, et in via peccatórum non stetit, * et in cáthedra pestiléntiæ non sedit	Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the chair of pestilence:
2  Sed in lege Dómini volúntas ejus, * et in lege ejus meditábitur die ac nocte.	But his will is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he shall meditate day and night.
3  Et erit tamquam lignum, quod plantátum est secus decúrsus aquárum, * quod fructum suum dabit in témpore suo:	And he shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters, which shall bring forth its fruit, in due season.
4  Et fólium ejus non défluet: * et ómnia quæcúmque fáciet, prosperabúntur.	And his leaf shall not fall off: and all whatsoever he shall do shall prosper.
5  Non sic ímpii, non sic: * sed tamquam pulvis, quem prójicit ventus a fácie terræ.	Not so the wicked, not so: but like the dust, which the wind drives from the face of the earth.
6  Ideo non resúrgent ímpii in judício: * neque peccatóres in concílio justórum.	Therefore the wicked shall not rise again in judgment: nor sinners in the council of the just.
7  Quóniam novit Dóminus viam justórum: * et iter impiórum períbit.	For the Lord knows the way of the just: and the way of the wicked shall perish.

 

 

 

Psalm 1 Verse 6 - Rising up in judgment

Hans Melling, 

The text

6.	V/OR	Ideo non resurgent impii in iudicio, neque peccatores  in consilio iustorum
	NV	Ideo non consurgent impii in iudicio, neque peccatores in concilio iustorum.
	JH	Propterea non resurgunt impii in iudicio, neque peccatores  in congregatione iustorum.
		διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἀναστήσονται ἀσεβεῖς ἐν κρίσει οὐδὲ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἐν βουλῇ δικαίων

 Ideo (therefore) non (not) resurgent (they shall rise up) impii (the wicked) in iudicio (in judgment), neque (neither/nor) peccatores (sinners) in consilio (in the council) iustorum (of the just).

ideo, adv., therefore, on that account.

resurgo, surrexi, surrectum, ere 3,  rise again; to rise, rise up, stand, i.e., to prevail, triumph.

justus, a, um just; a just man, the just.

DR	Therefore the wicked shall not rise again in judgment: nor sinners in the council of the just.
Brenton	Therefore the ungodly shall not rise in judgment, nor sinners in the counsel of the just.
MD	Therefore the wicked shall not stand firm in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the just.
RSV	Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
Cover	Therefore the ungodly shall not be able to stand in the judgement, neither the sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
Knox	Not for the wicked, when judgement comes, to rise up and plead their cause; sinners will have no part in the reunion of the just.
Grail	When the wicked are judged they shall not stand, nor find room among those who are just;

‘Resurgent in judicio’ has an obvious eschatological sense here, of the wicked not enjoying the resurrection at the Last Judgement.  Accordingly, the neo-Vulgate’s change of resurgo  to consurgo seems an unfortunate choice.  

Cassiodorus explains that the phrase 'rising again for judgment' means that:

  ...the individual renders an account for his deeds, they are rightly said not to rise again for judgment, for God’s sentence has already condemned them beyond doubt.

Or to draw on St Liguori's rather pithier summary on the verse:

...the wicked will not rise again to be judged because they are already condemned to punishment. 

St Jerome argues that the psalms points us to three categories of people.  On the one side we have the outright wicked; at the other the perfect man, Christ and the saints.  In the middle though, stands the sinner, a quasi-atheist for a time, who will be judged:

 In the Gospel according to John, we read: He who believes in me is not judged; but he who does not believe in me is already judged…Let us reflect upon the one who stands between the believer and the non-believer, the one that is to be judged.  Now he who believes will not be judged; he who believes according to truth does not sin; he who has true faith does not sin.  Actually, when we commit sin, it is because our mind is wavering in faith.  When we are giving way to anger, when we are detracting from the reputation of another, when we are committing murder, when we are yielding to fornication, just where then is our faith?...Who then is to be judged?  The one who indeed believes and yet yields to sin; he who has goodness, but has evil too; he who performs good acts at the time when he believes, but commits sin when his faith is weak…. 

Cassiodorus builds on this idea, pointing to the grace of confession:

The wicked are those who with harshness of mind utterly refuse to confess the holy Trinity, who do not consent to obey the rules of the Old and New Testaments, or who in Paul’s words profess God in words, but in their works deny him.  They do not rise in judgment because they have already been condemned through their unbelief…

Sinners are those who proclaim themselves Christians, but are subject to lesser sins.  To them is addressed the Lord’s prayer that they deliver themselves from evils.  But the wicked are those who do not know their maker and are polluted by various sins, for example blasphemers, those unwilling to repent, worshippers of idols, and persons fast-bound to the chief vices.  

So there are two classes of sinners: the first, who remain in their sins without making any placating satisfaction, and the second, those whose sins are forgiven through the grace of confession...Among these are the saints, because no man is without sin…

  

Vulgate	Douay Rheims translation
Beátus vir, qui non ábiit in consílio impiórum, et in via peccatórum non stetit, * et in cáthedra pestiléntiæ non sedit	Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the chair of pestilence:
2  Sed in lege Dómini volúntas ejus, * et in lege ejus meditábitur die ac nocte.	But his will is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he shall meditate day and night.
3  Et erit tamquam lignum, quod plantátum est secus decúrsus aquárum, * quod fructum suum dabit in témpore suo:	And he shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters, which shall bring forth its fruit, in due season.
4  Et fólium ejus non défluet: * et ómnia quæcúmque fáciet, prosperabúntur.	And his leaf shall not fall off: and all whatsoever he shall do shall prosper.
5  Non sic ímpii, non sic: * sed tamquam pulvis, quem prójicit ventus a fácie terræ.	Not so the wicked, not so: but like the dust, which the wind drives from the face of the earth.
6  Ideo non resúrgent ímpii in judício: * neque peccatóres in concílio justórum.	Therefore the wicked shall not rise again in judgment: nor sinners in the council of the just.
7  Quóniam novit Dóminus viam justórum: * et iter impiórum períbit.	For the Lord knows the way of the just: and the way of the wicked shall perish.

 

And for the final post in this series, continue on here.  

Psalm 1 verse 5 - The wicked man as dust blown about in the wind

The Ozymandias Colossus, inspiration for Shelley's poem 

The second section of Psalm 1 contrasts the happy state of the blessed man with that of the wicked man who rejects God, and refuses to repent: first we are instructed on the rewards that come from following Christ, then warned of the perils of failing to do so.  We are invited, as St Jerome says, to to 'meditate on the future life and on eternity'.

5.	V/OR	Non sic impii, non sic; sed tamquam pulvis quem proiicit ventus a facie terrae.
	NV	Non sic impii, non sic, sed tamquam pulvis, quem proicit ventus.
	JH	Non sic impii; sed tamquam puluis quem proicit uentus.
		οὐχ οὕτως οἱ ἀσεβεῖς οὐχ οὕτως ἀλλ' ἢ ὡς ὁ χνοῦς ὃν ἐκριπτεῖ ὁ ἄνεμος ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς

Non (not) sic (like/so) impii (the wicked) non (not) sic (like); sed (but) tamquam (like) pulvis (the dust) quem (that) proiicit (it sweeps away) ventus (the wind) a facie (from the face) terrae (of the earth).

sic, adv., so, thus, in this manner, in such a manner

impius, ii, m. sinners, the wicked, the godless

tamquam adv. of comparison,  as, just as, like, as it were.

pulvis, eris, m., dust.

projicio, jeci, jectum, ere 3  to cast, cast away, off, down or forth, cast;  cast upon, i.e., commit to the care of;  drive away, scatter, or sweep away, as wind does dust, reject.

ventus, i, m., the wind

facies, ei,  face, countenance, appearance; presence; from, from before, from one's presence, sight, eyes, etc. (a) because of.

DR	Not so the wicked, not so: but like the dust, which the wind drives from the face of the earth.
Brenton	Not so the ungodly; not so: but rather as the chaff which the wind scatters away from the face of the earth.
NETS	Not so the impious not so!  Rather they are like the dust that the wind flings from off the land.
MD	Not so the wicked not so.  They are like the chaff that the wind sweepeth from the earth.
RSV	The wicked are not so, but are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Cover	As for the ungodly, it is not so with them; but they are like the chaff, which the wind scattereth away from the face of the earth.
Knox	Not such, not such the wicked; the wicked are like chaff the wind sweeps away.
Grail	Not so are the wicked, not so! For they like winnowed chaff shall be driven away by the wind.

The wicked vs the sinner

St Jerome draws an important distinction in this section of the psalm, between the wicked and the sinner:

The psalmist did not say, not so the sinners, for if he had said sinners we would all then be excluded from reward…There is a difference between the wicked and sinners.  The wicked deny God altogether; the sinner acknowledges God and in spite of his acknowledgement commits sin…

The objective of this section of the psalm is to encourage us to turn away from sin, and avoid joining the company of the atheist.

Dust

The Septuagint and Vulgate use the word dust (pulvis), which Britt notes in his Dictionary of the Psalter has a number of figurative meanings in Scripture, including as a symbol of a low and wretched condition; to denote that which is unstable, a symbol of the wicked and of their works; the dead; and the dust, from which frail mortal man is made. Certainly, the Fathers made great use of the  
The promises offered to the just  are now contrasted with the fate of those who fail to heed the call to conversion, as St Robert Bellarmine explains:

…the wicked, wanting the divine grace, dry and barren, like the finest dust scattered by the wind, leave no trace of themselves, and not only lose glory, wealth, and pleasure – but even themselves, in the bargain, for all eternity.

St Thomas Aquinas explains the significance of the comparison to dust further: 

They are compared properly to dust, because dust has three things that are said of the just man; that dust does not stick to the earth, but it is on the surface, but a planted tree has roots. Again a tree is held together in itself, and it is moist; but dust is divided, dry and arid; through this we have a sign that good men are united like a tree by charity. Again, good men cling as with roots in spiritual things and divine goods, but evil men are sustained in exterior goods. Again, they are without the water of grace, "For dust thou art" etc And so all their malice flows away.

Cassiodorus offers a slightly different take on the image, seeing it as the wicked man storm tossed by his vices:

Dust is loosened earth, and the earthly man when puffed up with the seductive wind of pride is cast away like dust from the solid land of the living.  Because he could not maintain his stance on the firm ground of the commandments through lack of weight, the wicked man is rightly called dust, for like a thin substance he is tossed in the air by the blasts of vices…

Either way, the Hebrew Masoretic Text offers a different image, that of the chaff separated from the wheat by the action of the winds.

 

Vulgate	Douay Rheims translation
Beátus vir, qui non ábiit in consílio impiórum, et in via peccatórum non stetit, * et in cáthedra pestiléntiæ non sedit	Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the chair of pestilence:
2  Sed in lege Dómini volúntas ejus, * et in lege ejus meditábitur die ac nocte.	But his will is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he shall meditate day and night.
3  Et erit tamquam lignum, quod plantátum est secus decúrsus aquárum, * quod fructum suum dabit in témpore suo:	And he shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters, which shall bring forth its fruit, in due season.
4  Et fólium ejus non défluet: * et ómnia quæcúmque fáciet, prosperabúntur.	And his leaf shall not fall off: and all whatsoever he shall do shall prosper.
5 Non sic ímpii, non sic: * sed tamquam pulvis, quem prójicit ventus a fácie terræ.	Not so the wicked, not so: but like the dust, which the wind drives from the face of the earth.
6 Ideo non resúrgent ímpii in judício: * neque peccatóres in concílio justórum.	Therefore the wicked shall not rise again in judgment: nor sinners in the council of the just.
7  Quóniam novit Dóminus viam justórum: * et iter impiórum períbit.	For the Lord knows the way of the just: and the way of the wicked shall perish.

 And for the next part of this series, continue on here.

Psalm 1 verse 4 - The healing of nations

Mausoleum M in the pre-fourth-century necropolis under St Peter's Basilica in Rome

4.	V/NV	Et folium eius non defluet et omnia quaecumque faciet, prosperabuntur.
	OR	et folium eius non decidet et omnia quaecumque fecerit prosperabuntur
	JH	et folium eius non defluet ; et omne quod fecerit prosperabitur.
		καὶ τὸ φύλλον αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἀπορρυήσεται καὶ πάντα ὅσα ἂν ποιῇ κατευοδωθήσεται

Et (and) folium (foliage) eius (its) non (not) defluet (it falls off) et (and) omnia (all) quaecumque (whatsoever) faciet (he does/makes), prosperabuntur (it will prosper).

folium, ii, n. , a leaf, coll., foliage.

defluo, fluxi, ere 3, to flow down;  to fall, as a leaf

prospero, avi, stum, are,  to succeed, prosper , flourish, thrive

DR	And his leaf shall not fall off: and all whatsoever he shall do shall prosper.
Brenton	and its leaf shall not fall off; and whatsoever he shall do shall be prospered.
MD	And whose leaves shall not wither: and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper
RSV	and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
Cover	His leaf also shall not wither; and look, whatsoever he doeth, it shall prosper.
Knox	not a leaf faded; all that he does will prosper.
Grail	and whose leaves shall never fade; and all that he does shall prosper.

The previous verse focused on the fruit of the tree, but as Jerome puts it, 'The leaves of this tree are by no means useless'.

The leaves as 'the healing of nations'

Many of the explanations of this verse refer back to the image of the tree in Revelation 22, whose leaves bring health to all the nations.

St Hilary, for example, sees the leaves as the teaching of Christ, the fruit the product of its application:

Now the spiritual significance of the leaves is made clear by a comparison based upon material objects. We see that leaves are made to sprout round the fruits about which they cluster, for the express purpose of protecting them, and of forming a kind of fence to the young and tender shoots. What the leaves signify, then, is the teaching of God's words in which the promised fruits are clothed. For it is these words that kindly shade our hopes, that shield and protect them from the rough winds of this world. These leaves, then, that is the words of God, shall not fall: for the Lord Himself has said: Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away, for of the words that have been spoken by God not one shall fail or fall.

Jerome takes a similar line but suggests that the fruit is the spiritual meaning of Scripture, and the leaves are the literal meaning.  He then argues that even this alone is useful:

Even if one understands Holy Writ only as history, he has something useful for his soul.

Other of the Fathers though, offer I think, rather richer interpretations.

Words and actions

St Augustine interprets the leaves as words (since the words of the Lord last forever) and the fruit as deeds, an interpretation that Cassiodorus explains as follows:

In other words, under no circumstance does his word abandon the truth.  Just as the leaves of a palm-tree are evergreen, so these words implanted in the truth abide with unfailing promises, as the gospel says: Heaven and earth shall pass, but my words will not pass.

Evagrius, on the other hand, sees it going the other way around, with the leaves as the daily tasks and signs of the just person, including a smiling face:

The trees brings forth leaves, and the just one his daily tasks.  And the leaves are tokens of a good soul achieved by means of the body, like the appearance of clothes,  a foot’s stride,  a smiling face.

Similarly, Theodoret of Cyrus stresses cheerfulness as a virtue represented by the foliage of the tree:

You see, champions of virtue reap the fruit of their labours in the future life; but like a kind of foliage they bear sound hope constantly within them, flourishing and exulting, and by their cheerfulness they overcome the rigours of their labours.  They have the generous Lord constantly abetting their enthusiasm: To those who love God, says the divine Apostle, all things work together unto good.  

The promise of God's help

St Thomas Aquinas sees this verse as a promise of God's assistance:

Some trees are kept alive in their underlying substance, but not in the leaves, and others are also kept alive in their leaves: so also the just, whence he says: and his leaf shall not fall off that is, he will not be deserted by God even in the smallest exterior works. "But the just shall spring up as a green leaf." The blessed prosper in all things, and this is when they achieve the intended end with respect to all that they desire, because the just attain blessedness.   

Vulgate	Douay Rheims translation
Beátus vir, qui non ábiit in consílio impiórum, et in via peccatórum non stetit, * et in cáthedra pestiléntiæ non sedit	Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the chair of pestilence:
2  Sed in lege Dómini volúntas ejus, * et in lege ejus meditábitur die ac nocte.	But his will is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he shall meditate day and night.
3  Et erit tamquam lignum, quod plantátum est secus decúrsus aquárum, * quod fructum suum dabit in témpore suo:	And he shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters, which shall bring forth its fruit, in due season.
4  Et fólium ejus non défluet: * et ómnia quæcúmque fáciet, prosperabúntur.	And his leaf shall not fall off: and all whatsoever he shall do shall prosper.
5  Non sic ímpii, non sic: * sed tamquam pulvis, quem prójicit ventus a fácie terræ.	Not so the wicked, not so: but like the dust, which the wind drives from the face of the earth.
6  Ideo non resúrgent ímpii in judício: * neque peccatóres in concílio justórum.	Therefore the wicked shall not rise again in judgment: nor sinners in the council of the just.
7  Quóniam novit Dóminus viam justórum: * et iter impiórum períbit.	For the Lord knows the way of the just: and the way of the wicked shall perish.

 The next part of this series can be found here.