For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Parallel translations
- WEB For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish.
- BSB For the LORD guards the path of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
- NKJV For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
- NASB For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.
- NLT For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God intimately knows and watches over the path of the righteous, while the way of the wicked ends in ruin. The whole psalm rests on this contrast between two destinies.
Overview
To say the Lord 'knows' the way of the righteous means He cares for, approves, and preserves it, not merely that He is aware of it. The two ways of Psalm 1 frame the entire Psalter and echo through Scripture's call to choose life. Ultimately the righteous way is the way of Christ, the only path that leads to life (John 14:6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 2 Tim 2:19Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
- John 10:14I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
- Prov 15:9The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness.
- Nah 1:7The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.
- Ps 37:18–24The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
- John 10:27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
- Prov 14:12There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
- Ps 146:9The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.
- Ps 139:1–2O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
- Matt 7:13Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
- Job 23:10But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
- Ps 142:3When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.
- 2 Pet 2:12But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
- Ps 112:10The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.
- Ps 9:6O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 1:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.