Psalm 1 contrasts the righteous with the wicked by saying the wicked are “like chaff that the wind drives away” Psalm 1:4. The picture highlights their lack of weight and permanence compared with the tree image for the righteous Psalm 1:3.
Psalm 1:4 (Psalm 1:4) turns sharply from the stable, fruitful picture of the prior verses to its opposite. The wicked are “not so”: they do not have the grounded durability just described. Instead, they are compared to chaff, the light, useless husks left from grain processing. Psalm 1 opens the Psalms as a doorway poem that contrasts two paths: the way of the blessed person and the way of the wicked. Verses 1–3 describe the blessed person as steady and productive, like a well-watered tree.
Psalm 1:4 (Psalm 1:4) makes a sharp contrast with the prior picture of a well-watered, fruitful tree. The wicked are “not so.” The text’s central claim is not subtle: whatever stability and lasting value was suggested in verses 1–3 is denied of the wicked. The comparison to “chaff” draws on ordinary harvest work.
A common mistake is to turn the wording into a slogan. The better reading keeps the phrase tied to the passage, the speaker, and the problem the book is addressing.
Start with Psalms 1:4, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
4The wicked are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.