1 Happy are those who don’t follow the advice of the wicked. They refuse to adopt the ways of sinful people, and they don’t make fun of others.

2 Instead they love to do what the law of the Lord says, and they think about it day and night.

3 They’re like trees growing by flowing rivers, producing fruit every season. Their leaves never wither, and they are successful in all they do.

4 But it’s not like that for the wicked! They are like chaff, blown away by the wind.

5 For this reason the wicked will not survive the judgment—sinners have no place among those who live right.*1:5. "Those who live right": literally, "the righteous." However, this term is little used in general non-church language and so in this translation it is replaced with phrases such as "those who live right" or "those who do good/right" etc. This is more than being correct, it means living a life that is morally right.

6 For the Lord watches over those who follow the right way, but the way of the wicked leads to death.