Dr Paul Allen

I was trying to turn Psalm 1 into a singable song for the Bible club boys (6th grade on up) from the neighborhoods around my church. These were not young men with extensive church backgrounds and full-ride scholarships to elite Sunday schools . Their mastery of rap lyrics was, let’s say, somewhat superior to their knowledge of Scripture. But they had a capacity—and sometimes, I could swear, a desire—to learn. So when I got to Psalm 1’s statement that the wicked are not like the righteous, “but are like the chaff that the wind drives away,” I balked. Randall, Jimenez, and Javante aren’t going to know what “chaff” is, I thought. They’re going to be distracted and put off from learning because of this word. So for the purposes of this kids club song, I changed “chaff” to “dust.” We sang, The wicked are not so, But are like the dust which the wind drives away. I did this because I want people to understand the Bible. I agree with Augustine of Hippo : What is the use of correct speec...