God & Savior

Psalm 1:2

But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 1:2
Read chapter

Study notes

The blessed person delights in the Lord's law and thinks on it day and night.

Explanation

After describing what the blessed person avoids, the psalm says what they love: the law, or instruction, of the LORD. To "meditate" here means to go over God's words again and again, even quietly speaking them, so that they shape the whole of life, "day and night".

Original language
  • בְּתוֹרַ֥ת (be.to.Rat): instruction
    Hebrew · Preposition + Noun, feminine, singular, construct · Strong's H8451 · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    Law, or instruction: God's teaching, not only rules.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Psalm 1:2, word 3

  • יְהוָ֗ה (Yah.weh): LORD
    Hebrew · Noun, proper name, title · Strong's H3068G · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    Yahweh, God's personal name. The BSB shows it as "the LORD" in small capitals.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Psalm 1:2, word 4

  • יֶהְגֶּ֗ה (yeh.Geh): to mutter
    Hebrew · Verb, qal, imperfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular · Strong's H1897 · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    Meditates: to murmur or ponder, turning words over in the mind.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Psalm 1:2, word 7

Cross-references
  • Joshua 1:8 · Same theme

    Meditate on the Book of the Law day and night.

  • Psalm 119:97 · Same theme

    How I love Your law; I meditate on it all day.

  • Psalm 1:3 · Surrounding passage

    The result: a life like a fruitful tree.

Sources

Original language and places

Reference data from open datasets, shown as published by their sources. Word-by-word English is a literal guide, not a translation.

Original language (Hebrew)

כִּ֤י אִ֥ם בְּתוֹרַ֥ת יְהוָ֗ה חֶ֫פְצ֥וֹ וּֽבְתוֹרָת֥וֹ יֶהְגֶּ֗ה יוֹמָ֥ם וָלָֽיְלָה׃

  1. כִּ֤יki“that”
    Particle · from כִּי [אם] · “except” · Strong's H3588B
  2. אִ֥ם'im“except”
    Particle · from [כִּי] אם · “except” · Strong's H0518B
  3. בְּתוֹרַ֥תbe.to.Rat“[is] in [the] law of”
    Preposition + Noun, feminine, singular, construct · from תּוֹרָה · “instruction” · Strong's H8451
  4. יְהוָ֗הYah.weh“Yahweh”
    Noun, proper name, title · from יהוה · “LORD” · Strong's H3068G
  5. חֶ֫פְצ֥וֹchef.Tzo“delight his”
    Noun, masculine, singular, construct + Suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from חֵ֫פֶץ · “pleasure” · Strong's H2656
  6. וּֽבְתוֹרָת֥וֹu.ve.to.ra.To“and in law his”
    Conjunction + Preposition + Noun, feminine, singular, construct + Suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from תּוֹרָה · “instruction” · Strong's H8451
  7. יֶהְגֶּ֗הyeh.Geh“he meditates”
    Verb, qal, imperfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from הָגָה · “to mutter” · Strong's H1897
  8. יוֹמָ֥םyo.Mam“by day”
    Adverb · from יוֹמָם · “by day” · Strong's H3119
  9. וָלָֽיְלָה׃va.La.ye.lah“and night”
    Conjunction + Noun, masculine, singular, absolute · from לַ֫יְלָה · “night” · Strong's H3915
  • Prepared by the God & Savior team. Not yet reviewed by an editor.
  • Hebrew and Aramaic words: STEP Bible (STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. CC BY 4.0. Source (version ed476a8)