Psalms

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Psalm 1

1 How blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand in the pathway with sinners, or sit in the assembly of scoffers.⁠ 2 Instead he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands; he meditates on his commands day and night.⁠ 3 He is like a tree planted by flowing streams; it yields its fruit at the proper time, and its leaves never fall off.⁠ He succeeds in everything he attempts.⁠ 4 Not so with the wicked! Instead they are like wind-driven chaff.⁠ 5 For this reason the wicked cannot withstand judgment, nor can sinners join the assembly of the godly. 6 Certainly the Lord guards the way of the godly, but the way of the wicked ends in destruction.

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 1:4 and Matthew 3:12

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

Summary

Psalm 1 compares those who reject the Torah to chaff blown away, contrasting them with stable, fruitful lives. In Matthew, John the Baptist uses similar imagery to describe future judgment, separating those who are fruitful from those who are not.

Passages

Psalm 1:4

Hebrew Bible

1 How blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand in the pathway with sinners, or sit in the assembly of scoffers. 2 Instead he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands; he meditates on his commands day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by flowing streams; it yields its fruit at the proper time, and its leaves never fall off. He succeeds in everything he attempts. 4 Not so with the wicked! Instead they are like wind-driven chaff. 5 For this reason the wicked cannot withstand judgment, nor can sinners join the assembly of the godly.

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Matthew 3:12

New Testament

10 Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 “I baptize you with water, for repentance, but the one coming after me is more powerful than I am—I am not worthy to carry his sandals! He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse, but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire!” 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John to be baptized by him in the Jordan River.

70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

References

"... Originally, Eisler thinks, the Baptist said something like this, "I baptize you with water, but he that cometh after me, whose shoes I am not worthy to draw off, he will baptize you with wind and with fire. His fan is already in his hand and he will sweep his threshing floor, and gather the wheat into his garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire. Eisler refers to Psalm 1:4-5 where the wicked are pictured as chaff which the wind will blow away in judgment. The next verse (Matthew 3:12 and Luke 3:17) pictures a judgment of wind. The wind is not mentioned in that verse, but is supplied from our phrase, translated as wind. This would explain, Eisler said, why the Baptist's disciples in Acts 19:2-4 were wholly ignorant of a Holy spirit. This wind of judgment would be purifying for Jerusalem, as in Isaiah 4:4 ..."

Luther Esala, “He Will Baptize You with the Holy Spirit and Fire” (STM diss., Concordia Seminary, 1993), 14.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Psalms150 psalms

Compare Psalm 1:4 and Matthew 3:12

Summary

Passages

Psalm 1:4

Matthew 3:12

References

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