the Second Week after Easter
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Psalms 1:4
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The wicked are not like this;instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.
The wicked are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
But wicked people are not like that. They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
Not so with the wicked! Instead they are like wind-driven chaff.
The wicked [those who live in disobedience to God's law] are not so, But they are like the chaff [worthless and without substance] which the wind blows away.
The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind blows away.
The wicked are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
The wicked are not so, but as the chaffe, which the winde driueth away.
The wicked are not so,But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind.
That isn't true of those who are evil, because they are like straw blown by the wind.
Not so the wicked, who are like chaff driven by the wind.
The wicked are not so; but are as the chaff which the wind driveth away.
But the wicked are not like that. They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
But evil people are not like this at all; they are like straw that the wind blows away.
Not so the wicked. Instead, they are like the chaff that the wind scatters.
Not so are the wicked, but they are only as chaff which the wind drives about.
As for the vngodly, it is not so with them: but they are like the dust, which ye wynde scatereth awaye from of the grounde.
The wicked are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
The evil-doers are not so; but are like the dust from the grain, which the wind takes away.
Not so the wicked; but they are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
The vngodly are not so: but are like the chaffe, which the winde driueth away.
[As for] the vngodly [it is] not so [with them:] but they [are] like the chaffe which the winde scattereth abrode.
Not so the ungodly; —not so: but rather as the chaff which the wind scatters away from the face of the earth.
The wicked are not so; but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
Not so wickid men, not so; but thei ben as dust, which the wynd castith awei fro the face of erthe.
The ungodly [are] not so: but [are] like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
Sinful men are not like this. They are like straw blown away by the wind.
The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Not so, the lawless, - but as chaff which is driven about by the wind:
Not so the wicked, not so: but like the dust, which the wind driveth from the face of the earth.
The wicked are not so, but are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Not so the wicked: But -- as chaff that wind driveth away!
You're not at all like the wicked, who are mere windblown dust— Without defense in court, unfit company for innocent people.
The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
like: Psalms 35:5, Job 21:18, Isaiah 17:13, Isaiah 29:5, Hosea 13:3, Matthew 3:12
Reciprocal: Job 30:22 - liftest me Psalms 37:38 - General Psalms 92:9 - scattered Psalms 104:35 - sinners Isaiah 41:16 - shalt fan Isaiah 57:13 - but the Isaiah 64:6 - our iniquities Jeremiah 8:13 - the leaf Jeremiah 13:24 - as Jeremiah 15:7 - I will fan Jeremiah 17:6 - like Daniel 2:35 - like Hosea 13:15 - an east Zephaniah 2:2 - as Mark 4:6 - no root Luke 3:17 - but 1 Peter 4:18 - where
Cross-References
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters he called Seas: and God saw that it was good.
And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after their kind: and God saw that it was good.
and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind: and God saw that it was good.
And God saw everything that he had made, and, look, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Then I saw that wisdom excels folly, as far as light excels darkness.
Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
The ungodly [are] not so,.... They are not as the good man is; their manner and course of life are different; they walk in the counsel of ungodly men, like themselves, and take counsel against the Lord, his Anointed, and his people: they stand in the way of sinners, and steer their conversation according to the course of the world, and sit in the seat of the scornful; laugh at divine revelation, lampoon the Scriptures, deride good men, make a jest of religion and a future state: they have no delight in the law of the Lord, they cast it away from them, and despise it; and are so far from a constant meditation on it, that they never read it, nor so much as look into it, nor is it ever in their thoughts. They are not like to a tree, as described in Psalms 1:3: if they are like to trees, it is to dry trees, and not green ones, to trees without any sap, moisture, and verdure, and which are only fit fuel for the fire; to the trees of the wood, to wild olive trees; to trees on an heath, in a desert, in parched land, and not to trees by rivers of water, but to trees that have no root, and are without fruit, Judges 1:12. And though they may be in a seeming prosperous condition for a time, may be in great power, riches, and honour, and spread themselves like a green bay tree; yet suddenly they are cut down as the grass, and wither as the green herb; and even their outward prosperity destroys them; so that not anything they have or do in the issue prospers: and therefore they are not blessed or happy as the good man is; yea, they are wretched and miserable, nay, cursed; they are cursed now, and will be hereafter; they are cursed in their basket and store, their blessings are curses to them; the law pronounces them cursed; and they will hear, "go ye cursed", at the day of judgment, see Matthew 25:41. The Vulgate Latin, Septuagint, and Arabic versions, repeat the words "not so", and read "not so the ungodly, not so:" which seems to be done for the confirmation of the truth of it:
but [are] like the chaff which the wind driveth away; they are like chaff, which has no root, moisture, greenness, nor fruitfulness; they have nothing in them solid and substantial; they are destitute of all that is good; are vain and empty; without the knowledge of God and Christ; without faith in Christ and love to him; and are sensual, not having the Spirit, his graces and fruits: they are like chaff for lightness, vain in their imaginations, light in their principles, frothy in their words, and unstable in all their ways: they are never long in any position, unsettled, disquieted, and tossed to and fro; and there is no peace unto them: they are like chaff, useless and unprofitable, nothing worth, fit only for everlasting burnings, which will be their case. For when Christ will gather his wheat, the righteous, which are of value, into his garner, the heavenly glory, he will burn the chaff, the wicked, with unquenchable fire. They are now like chaff, driven and carried about with every wind of doctrine, with divers and strange doctrines, and entertain every light and airy notion; and are easily drawn aside and carried away by the force of their own lusts, and with every temptation of Satan, who works effectually in then: and particularly they are like chaff before the wind of terrible judgments and calamities in this life, and of the awful judgment hereafter, when they will be driven away from the presence of the Lord into everlasting destruction. The metaphor is often used in this sense; see Job 21:17; and denotes the secret, sudden, sure, and easy ruin of the ungodly, which comes upon them like a whirlwind, in an instant, which they cannot avoid; and they can no more stand before God and against him, than chaff before the wind. It follows,
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
The ungodly are not so - literally, “Not thus the wicked.” For the word ungodly, see the notes at Psalms 1:1. The statement that the “wicked are not so,” is a general statement applicable alike to their character and destiny, though the mind of the author of the psalm is fixed immediately and particularly on the difference in their destiny, without specifying anything particularly respecting their character. It is as true, however, that the ungodly do walk in the counsel of the wicked, and stand in the way of sinners, and sit in the seat of the scornful, as it is that the righteous do not; as true that they do not delight in the law of the Lord, as it is that the righteous do; as true that the wicked are not like a tree planted by the channels of water, as it is that the righteous are. This passage, therefore, may be employed to show what is the character of the ungodly, and in so applying it, what was before negative in regard to the righteous, becomes positive in regard to the wicked; what was positive, becomes negative. Thus it is true:
(a) that the wicked do walk in the counsel of the ungodly; do stand in the way of sinners; do sit in the seat of the scornful;
(b) that they do not delight in the law of the Lord, or meditate on his word; and
(c) that they are not like a tree planted by the waters, that is green and beautiful and fruitful.
Both in character and in destiny the ungodly differ from the righteous. The subsequent part of the verse shows that, while the general truth was in the mind of the writer, the particular thing on which his attention was fixed was, his condition in life - his destiny - as that which could not be compared with a green and fruitful tree, but which suggested quite another image.
But are like the chaff which the wind driveth away - When the wheat was winnowed. This, in Oriental countries, was commonly performed in the open field, and usually on an eminence, and where there was a strong wind. The operation was performed, as it is now in our country, when a fan or fanning-mill cannot he procured, by throwing up the grain as it is threshed with a shovel, and the wind scatters the chaff, while the grain falls to the ground. See the notes at Matthew 3:12.
This very naturally and appropriately furnished an illustration of the destiny of the wicked. Compared with the righteous, they were like the worthless chaff driven away by the wind. The image is often found in the Scriptures. See Job 21:18, note; Isaiah 17:13, note. Compare also Psalms 35:5; Isaiah 29:5; Isaiah 41:15; Daniel 2:35; Hosea 13:3. The idea here is, that the wicked are in no respect like the green and fruitful tree referred to in Psalms 1:3. They are not like a tree in any respect. They are not even like a decaying tree, a barren tree, a dead tree, for either of these would suggest some idea of stability or permanency. They are like dry and worthless chaff driven off by the wind, as of no value to the farmer - a substance which he is anxious only to separate wholly from his grain, and to get out of his way. The idea thus suggested, therefore, is that of intrinsic worthlessness. It will be among other things, on this account that the wicked will be driven away - that they are worthless in the universe of God - worthless to all the purposes for which man was made. At the same time, however, there may be an implied contrast between that chaff and the useful grain which it is the object of the farmer to secure.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Psalms 1:4. The ungodly are not so — The Vulgate and Septuagint, and the versions made from them, such as the AEthiopic and Arabic, double the last negation, and add a clause to the end of the verse, "Not so the ungodly, not so; they shall be like the dust which the wind scatters away from the face of the earth." There is nothing solid in the men; there is nothing good in their ways. They are not of God's planting; they are not good grain; they are only chaff, and a chaff that shall be separated from the good grain when the fan or shovel of God's power throws them up to the wind of his judgments. The manner of winnowing in the eastern countries is nearly the same with that practiced in various parts of these kingdoms before the invention of winnowing machines. They either throw it up in a place out of doors by a large wooden shovel against the wind; or with their weights or winnowing fans shake it down leisurely in the wind. The grain falls down nearly perpendicularly; and the chaff, through its lightness, is blown away to a distance from the grain.
An ungodly man is never steady; his purposes are abortive; his conversation light, trifling, and foolish; his professions, friendships, c., frothy, hollow, and insincere and both he and his works are carried away to destruction by the wind of God's judgments.
