For the Lord knows 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.
- KJV For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
- BSB For the LORD guards the path of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will 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 2:19However God’s firm foundation stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let every one who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness.”
- John 10:14I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I’m known by my own;
- Prov 15:9The way of the wicked is an abomination to Yahweh, but he loves him who follows after righteousness.
- Nah 1:7Yahweh is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knows those who take refuge in him.
- Ps 37:18–24Yahweh knows the days of the perfect. Their inheritance shall be forever.
- John 10:27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
- Prov 14:12There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
- Ps 146:9Yahweh preserves the foreigners. He upholds the fatherless and widow, but the way of the wicked he turns upside down.
- Ps 139:1–2For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. Yahweh, you have searched me, and you know me.
- Matt 7:13“Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it.
- Job 23:10But he knows the way that I take. When he has tried me, I shall come out like gold.
- Ps 142:3When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, you knew my route. On the path in which I walk, they have hidden a snare for me.
- 2 Pet 2:12But these, as unreasoning creatures, born natural animals to be taken and destroyed, speaking evil in matters about which they are ignorant, will in their destroying surely be destroyed,
- Ps 112:10The wicked will see it, and be grieved. He shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away. The desire of the wicked will perish.
- Ps 9:6The enemy is overtaken by endless ruin. The very memory of the cities which you have overthrown has perished.
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.