Psalms 1:3

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
tree	כְּעֵץ֮ ke.'Etz	H6086	a tree (from its firmness) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
planted	שָׁת֪וּל sha.Tul	H8362	to transplant · verb, qal passive participle, masculine singular absolute
rivers	פַּלְגֵ֫י pal.Gei	H6388	a rill (i.e. small channel of water · noun, common masculine plural construct
water	מָ֥יִם Ma.yim	H4325	water · noun, common masculine plural absolute
forth	יִתֵּ֬ן yi.Ten	H5414	to give · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
fruit	פִּרְי֨וֹ pir.Yo	H6529	fruit (literally or figuratively) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
season	בְּעִתּ֗וֹ be.'i.To	H6256	time · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
leaf	וְעָלֵ֥הוּ ve.'a.Le.hu	H5929	a leaf (as coming up on a tree) · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
wither	יִבּ֑וֹל yi.Bol	H5034	to wilt · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
doeth	יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה ya.'a.Seh	H6213	to do or make · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
prosper	יַצְלִֽיחַ yatz.Li.ach	H6743	to push forward · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Jeremiah 17:8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her…
Ezekiel 47:12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither sha…
Psalms 92:14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;
John 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burn…
Ezekiel 19:10 Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.
Genesis 39:23 The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD mad…
Joshua 1:7-8 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: tur…
Revelation 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yield…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 1:1-3

The psalmist begins with the character and condition of a godly man, that those may first take the comfort of that to whom it belongs. Here is, I. A description of the godly man's spirit and way, by which we are to try ourselves. The Lord knows those that are his by name, but we must know them by their character; for that is agreeable to a state of probation, that we may study to answer to the character, which is indeed both the command of the law which we are bound in duty to obey and the condition of the promise which we are bound in interest to fulfil. The character of a good man is here given by the rules he chooses to walk by and to take his measures from. What we take at our setting ou…

Read the whole note in the console

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 1:3

like a tree-- (Jer 17:7-8). planted--settled, fast. by--or, "over." the rivers--canals for irrigation. shall prosper--literally, "make prosper," brings to perfection. The basis of this condition and character is given (Psa 32:1).

John Gill on Psalms 1:3

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,.... Or, "for then shall he be", &c. as Alshech renders the words; and the Hebrew "vau" is often used for "then" (q). As Psalm 1:1 describe the man who is blessed, this points at his blessedness, and shows and proves him to be an happy man; for he is comparable to a "tree": not to a dry tree, or a tree without fruit, or whose fruit is withered, but to a fruitful tree, a green and flourishing one; green olive tree, or a palm tree, or a cedar in Lebanon; to which David compares himself and the righteous, Psalm 52:8; and here such an one is compared to a tree "planted"; not to one that grows of itself, a wild tree, a tree of the wood; b…

Read the whole note in the console

John Calvin on Psalms 1:3

Psalm 1:3 3. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of waters, that bringeth his fruit in his season; whose leaf shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The Psalmist here illustrates, and, at the same time, confirms by a metaphor the statement made in the preceding verse; for he shows in what respect those who fear God are to be accounted happy, namely, not because they enjoy an evanescent and empty gladness, but because they are in a desirable condition. There is in the words an implied contrast between the vigor of a tree planted in a situation well watered, and the decayed appearance of one which, although it may flourish beautifully for a time, yet soon withers…

The Church Fathers

"A tree planted by the waterside, that will bring forth his fruit in due season"; that is, learning and charity and discretion are imparted in due time to those who come to the waters of redemption.
— Methodius of Olympus, BANQUET OF THE TEN VIRGINS 9:3

The soul watered by sacred Scripture grows fat and bears fruit in due season, which is the orthodox faith, and so is it adorned with its evergreen leaves, with actions pleasing to God, I mean. And thus we are disposed to virtuous action and untroubled contemplation by the sacred Scriptures.
— John Damascene, ORTHODOX FAITH 4:17

The tree is the wisdom of God; its fruit the mystical and spiritual sense of the Scriptures; the leaves covering its fruits are external words, which besides protecting the fruits display appropriate behavior, and they become the nourishment of good people, who are called beasts of burden on account of their own simplicity.
— Didymus the Blind, FRAGMENTS ON THE PSALMS 1:3

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Agriculture — Tilling the ground (Gen. 2:15; 4:2, 3, 12) and rearing cattle were the chief employments in ancient times. The Egyptians excelled in agriculture. And after the Israelites entered into the possession…
Leaf — Of a tree. The olive-leaf mentioned Gen. 8:11. The barren fig-tree had nothing but leaves (Matt. 21:19; Mark 11:13). The oak-leaf is mentioned Isa. 1:30; 6:13. There are numerous allusions to leaves,…
River — (1.) Heb. ‘aphik, properly the channel or ravine that holds water (2 Sam. 22:16), translated “brook,” “river,” “stream,” but not necessarily a perennial stream (Ezek. 6:3; 31:12; 32:6; 34:13). (2.)…
Blessing · SPIRITUAL, FROM GOD — SPIRITUAL, FROM GOD
Conduct, Christian · Blessedness of maintaining — Blessedness of maintaining
Emblems Of The Holy Spirit, The · Fertilising — Fertilising
Righteousness · FRUITS OF — FRUITS OF
Rivers · Banks of: Peculiarly fruitful — Banks of: Peculiarly fruitful
Saints, Compared To · Trees planted by rivers — Trees planted by rivers
Tree · FIGURATIVE — FIGURATIVE
Trees · Illustrative: (Good and fruitful,) of saints — Illustrative: (Good and fruitful,) of saints

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Psalms 1:3

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 1:1-3

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 1:3

John Gill on Psalms 1:3

John Calvin on Psalms 1:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 1:3

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 1:1-3

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 1:3

John Gill on Psalms 1:3

John Calvin on Psalms 1:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 1:1-3

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 1:3-5

Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 1:3