The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This verse isn't just about the wicked's bad end; it highlights their fundamental worthlessness, like dry husks tossed aside. They lack the substance and stability of the righteous, who are rooted and fruitful, while the wicked are blown about by every passing temptation and will ultimately vanish without a trace.
The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This verse directly contrasts with the description of the righteous in verse 3, who are like a tree firmly planted by water, bearing fruit. Instead of stability and fruitfulness, the wicked are depicted as worthless, unstable, and easily dispersed, like chaff blown away during the winnowing process. The imagery highlights their ultimate lack of substance and their inevitable scattering by divine judgment.
The psalm contrasts the blessed with the wicked, but how are they different? It's not just about actions, but essence.
The image of chaff is powerful because it highlights the utter worthlessness and instability of the wicked.
This stark contrast shows that the wicked, apart from God's law, are ultimately without value and tossed about by every passing temptation or circumstance.
The fate of the wicked is painted with a vivid, agricultural image. What does this picture of judgment reveal about God?
This verse isn't just a description; it's a foreshadowing of God's judgment.
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Understand the original words
mots · Hebrew Noun
The husk of grain separated during winnowing. It serves as a powerful metaphor for the worthless, unstable, and transitory nature of those who lack spiritual substance and divine grounding.
This passage uses the powerful imagery of chaff being swept away by the wind to describe the sudden and complete destruction of the wicked, mirroring the fate of the ungodly in Psalm 1.
Matthew 3:12John the Baptist's description of Jesus winnowing his threshing floor directly parallels the image of chaff being separated and burned, highlighting the divine judgment that awaits the wicked.
Job 21:18Here, Job uses the same simile of chaff scattered by the wind to illustrate the precarious and ultimately doomed existence of the wicked, emphasizing their lack of stability.
Hosea 13:3This prophetic oracle vividly portrays the people's scattering and destruction by God's judgment as chaff blown by a storm, reinforcing the image of utter dispersion for the ungodly.
cambridgePsalms 1:4: "The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away."
4 . In sharp contrast to the firmly-rooted, flourishing, fruitful tree is the chaff on the threshing-floor, worthless in itself, and liable to be swept away by every passing breeze. The scattering of chaff by the wind is a common figure in the O.T. for the sudden destruction of the wicked. Cp. Psalm 35:5 ; Job 21:18 ; Isaiah 29:5 ; Hosea 13:3 . Here it describes their character as well as their fate. It wo…
wesleyPsalms 1:4: "The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away."
1:4 Ungodly - Their condition is far different. Chaff - They are restless and unquiet: their seeming felicity, hath no firm foundation, but quickly vanishes and flees away as chaff before the wind.
This verse isn't just about the wicked's bad end; it highlights their fundamental worthlessness, like dry husks tossed aside. They lack the substance and stability of the righteous, who are rooted and fruitful, while the wicked are blown about by every passing temptation and will ultimately vanish without a trace.
This verse directly contrasts with the description of the righteous in verse 3, who are like a tree firmly planted by water, bearing fruit. Instead of stability and fruitfulness, the wicked are depicted as worthless, unstable, and easily dispersed, like chaff blown away during the winnowing process. The imagery highlights their ultimate lack of substance and their inevitable scattering by divine judgment.
This verse directly contrasts with the description of the righteous in verse 3, who are like a tree firmly planted by water, bearing fruit. Instead of stability and fruitfulness, the wicked are depicted as worthless, unstable, and easily dispersed, like chaff blown away during the winnowing process. The imagery highlights their ultimate lack of substance and their inevitable scattering by divine judgment.
"The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away." — This verse isn't just about the wicked's bad end; it highlights their fundamental worthlessness, like dry husks tossed aside. They lack the substance and stability of the righteous, who are rooted an…
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Last reviewed October 2026