“How blessed are those who reject the advice of the wicked, don’t stand on the way of sinners or sit where scoffers sit! Their delight is in Adonai’s Torah; on his Torah they meditate day and night” (Complete Jewish Bible).
In Hebrew the word for ‘blessed’ is esher and means ‘how happy!’
In Hebrew the word for ‘reject’ is the phrase ‘does not walk.’ The word for ‘walk in Hebrew is halacha and means ‘to go’ or ‘to come’ or ‘accompany.’ The word halacha is used to describe the way one walks according to Torah as as outlined by Jewish rabbis. The ‘way of walking’ encompasses civil, criminal, and religious rules.
The Hebrew word derech is also used in this verse. This word means ‘path,’ or ‘course of life.’ It would coincide with halacha as the ‘way to walk’ in the ‘course of life’ that should be according to Torah. The derech is also a journey suggesting a life that is transformed daily.
The Hebrew word for ‘advice’ is etzah and means ‘counsel’ or ‘purpose.’
The Hebrew word for ‘wicked’ is rasha and means ‘criminal,’ or ‘guilty of a moral crime’ especially in relation to a hostility toward God. It includes being guilty of sin against God or another person.
‘Sinners’ in Hebrew is chattah and means ‘offenders.’ The root of the word is chat means ‘to miss the mark’ as if one were shooting an arrow. The commandments of God or Torah are the goal or the target. When one ‘misses the mark,’ they ‘fall short,’ and are considered a sinner.
The Hebrew word for ‘scoffers’ is lutz and means ‘ambassador,’ ‘interpretor,’ or ‘scoffer.’ When used as ambassador, it suggests ‘speaking in opposition to God,’ being accusing, proud, and incapable of being disciplined.
The Hebrew word for ‘sit’ is yashab and means ‘to dwell’ or ‘remain.’ This is reference to being ‘seated’ and ‘remaining.’ Another word for ‘sit’ is moshav and means ‘an assembly.’ In Isra’el a moshav is an agricultural town or community that works together similar to a kibbutz. Both of these terms are used in this verse.
The Hebrew word for ‘delight’ is chephetz and means ‘desire,’ ‘pleasure,’ ‘longing’ from a willful sense.
In the Complete Jewish Bible and other Hebrew translations, the word Torah is used instead of ‘law,’ because torah is the Hebrew word found in this verse. Torah means ‘teachings and instructions’ and/or refers to the first five books of the Bible.
‘Meditate’ in Hebrew is hagah and means ‘to speak,’ ‘to utter,’ ‘to moan.’ The word haggadah comes derives from this word and is the booklet used for ‘the telling’ of the Passover account during a Pesach seder.
“How happy! are those who do not walk or accompany the morally guilty of crimes through their journey on the pathway of the commandments, who do not make their halacha, or dwell with, or assemble with, or be an ambassador of those who miss the mark of God’s directions and offend Him. Instead, their pleasure, their longing is in the teachings of Yahweh, and on His instructions they moan, utter, and speak all the time, both day and night.”
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