Psalms 50
Old Testament · King James Version
Psalm 50 presents God as judge of his own covenant people. It rejects transactional sacrifice, calls for thanksgiving, vows, trust in trouble, and integrity, and rebukes religious speech that coexists with theft, adultery, deceit, and slander.
The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.
He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.
Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.
And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.
Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.
I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me.
I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds.
For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.
If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:
And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?
Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.
When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.
Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.
Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son.
These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.
Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.
Context
Psalm 50 presents God as judge of his own covenant people. It rejects transactional sacrifice, calls for thanksgiving, vows, trust in trouble, and integrity, and rebukes religious speech that coexists with theft, adultery, deceit, and slander.
Themes & application
- God summons the earth and judges his covenant people
- God wants grateful dependence, not transactional sacrifice
- Religious speech without obedience is exposed
- Remember God, give thanks, and walk rightly
Psalm 50 is a covenant-liturgy and wisdom-like judgment psalm in which God summons heaven and earth, rejects any idea that sacrifice feeds or obligates him, calls for thanksgiving and trust, and exposes the contradiction between reciting covenant words and practicing theft, sexual betrayal, deceit, and slander.
Key verses
God comes and does not remain silent, surrounded by consuming fire and a mighty tempest; the theophany communicates holy judgment and must not be turned into authorization for human violence.
Application: God comes and does not remain silent, surrounded by consuming fire and a mighty tempest; the theophany communicates holy judgment and must not be turned into authorization for human violence.
Commonly misread: Psalm 50 addresses God’s own covenant community and must not be used for anti-Jewish or antisemitic claims. Its critique of sacrifice rejects transactional or hypocritical worship, not Israel, Judaism, embodied worship, generosity, or every sacrificial practice in its biblical setting. “The wicked” is a moral description of people whose conduct contradicts their words, not an ethnic, political, social, or economic class. The fire, tempest, and tearing imagery belongs to divine judgment and does not authorize human violence. God’s prior silence in verse 21 is not approval of abuse or wrongdoing, and verse 23 does not teach salvation earned by ritual performance.
God summons his faithful ones who made covenant with him by sacrifice; the verse identifies the judged community as God’s own covenant people rather than an outsider ethnic target.
Application: God summons his faithful ones who made covenant with him by sacrifice; the verse identifies the judged community as God’s own covenant people rather than an outsider ethnic target.
Commonly misread: Psalm 50 addresses God’s own covenant community and must not be used for anti-Jewish or antisemitic claims. Its critique of sacrifice rejects transactional or hypocritical worship, not Israel, Judaism, embodied worship, generosity, or every sacrificial practice in its biblical setting. “The wicked” is a moral description of people whose conduct contradicts their words, not an ethnic, political, social, or economic class. The fire, tempest, and tearing imagery belongs to divine judgment and does not authorize human violence. God’s prior silence in verse 21 is not approval of abuse or wrongdoing, and verse 23 does not teach salvation earned by ritual performance.
The problem is not that sacrifices are absent, for burnt offerings are continually before God; outward religious observance can coexist with deeper misunderstanding.
Application: The problem is not that sacrifices are absent, for burnt offerings are continually before God; outward religious observance can coexist with deeper misunderstanding.
Commonly misread: Psalm 50 addresses God’s own covenant community and must not be used for anti-Jewish or antisemitic claims. Its critique of sacrifice rejects transactional or hypocritical worship, not Israel, Judaism, embodied worship, generosity, or every sacrificial practice in its biblical setting. “The wicked” is a moral description of people whose conduct contradicts their words, not an ethnic, political, social, or economic class. The fire, tempest, and tearing imagery belongs to divine judgment and does not authorize human violence. God’s prior silence in verse 21 is not approval of abuse or wrongdoing, and verse 23 does not teach salvation earned by ritual performance.
The fitting response is to offer thanksgiving to God and fulfill vows to the Most High; worship is recentered on gratitude, fidelity, and truthful relationship.
Application: The fitting response is to offer thanksgiving to God and fulfill vows to the Most High; worship is recentered on gratitude, fidelity, and truthful relationship.
Commonly misread: Psalm 50 addresses God’s own covenant community and must not be used for anti-Jewish or antisemitic claims. Its critique of sacrifice rejects transactional or hypocritical worship, not Israel, Judaism, embodied worship, generosity, or every sacrificial practice in its biblical setting. “The wicked” is a moral description of people whose conduct contradicts their words, not an ethnic, political, social, or economic class. The fire, tempest, and tearing imagery belongs to divine judgment and does not authorize human violence. God’s prior silence in verse 21 is not approval of abuse or wrongdoing, and verse 23 does not teach salvation earned by ritual performance.
God invites his people to call on him in the day of trouble, promising deliverance that leads to honoring him; dependence on God replaces the fantasy of controlling God through offerings.
Application: God invites his people to call on him in the day of trouble, promising deliverance that leads to honoring him; dependence on God replaces the fantasy of controlling God through offerings.
Commonly misread: Psalm 50 addresses God’s own covenant community and must not be used for anti-Jewish or antisemitic claims. Its critique of sacrifice rejects transactional or hypocritical worship, not Israel, Judaism, embodied worship, generosity, or every sacrificial practice in its biblical setting. “The wicked” is a moral description of people whose conduct contradicts their words, not an ethnic, political, social, or economic class. The fire, tempest, and tearing imagery belongs to divine judgment and does not authorize human violence. God’s prior silence in verse 21 is not approval of abuse or wrongdoing, and verse 23 does not teach salvation earned by ritual performance.
God turns to the wicked person who recites statutes and speaks of the covenant while rejecting its demands; religious vocabulary does not substitute for obedient character.
Application: God turns to the wicked person who recites statutes and speaks of the covenant while rejecting its demands; religious vocabulary does not substitute for obedient character.
Commonly misread: Psalm 50 addresses God’s own covenant community and must not be used for anti-Jewish or antisemitic claims. Its critique of sacrifice rejects transactional or hypocritical worship, not Israel, Judaism, embodied worship, generosity, or every sacrificial practice in its biblical setting. “The wicked” is a moral description of people whose conduct contradicts their words, not an ethnic, political, social, or economic class. The fire, tempest, and tearing imagery belongs to divine judgment and does not authorize human violence. God’s prior silence in verse 21 is not approval of abuse or wrongdoing, and verse 23 does not teach salvation earned by ritual performance.
God explains that his silence was mistaken for likeness to the wrongdoer, but now he rebukes and sets the case in order; delayed judgment is not divine approval of injustice or abuse.
Application: God explains that his silence was mistaken for likeness to the wrongdoer, but now he rebukes and sets the case in order; delayed judgment is not divine approval of injustice or abuse.
Commonly misread: Psalm 50 addresses God’s own covenant community and must not be used for anti-Jewish or antisemitic claims. Its critique of sacrifice rejects transactional or hypocritical worship, not Israel, Judaism, embodied worship, generosity, or every sacrificial practice in its biblical setting. “The wicked” is a moral description of people whose conduct contradicts their words, not an ethnic, political, social, or economic class. The fire, tempest, and tearing imagery belongs to divine judgment and does not authorize human violence. God’s prior silence in verse 21 is not approval of abuse or wrongdoing, and verse 23 does not teach salvation earned by ritual performance.
The psalm closes by saying thanksgiving honors God and an ordered way opens onto God’s salvation; grateful worship and faithful conduct belong together, without turning salvation into wages earned by ritual performance.
Application: The psalm closes by saying thanksgiving honors God and an ordered way opens onto God’s salvation; grateful worship and faithful conduct belong together, without turning salvation into wages earned by ritual performance.
Commonly misread: Psalm 50 addresses God’s own covenant community and must not be used for anti-Jewish or antisemitic claims. Its critique of sacrifice rejects transactional or hypocritical worship, not Israel, Judaism, embodied worship, generosity, or every sacrificial practice in its biblical setting. “The wicked” is a moral description of people whose conduct contradicts their words, not an ethnic, political, social, or economic class. The fire, tempest, and tearing imagery belongs to divine judgment and does not authorize human violence. God’s prior silence in verse 21 is not approval of abuse or wrongdoing, and verse 23 does not teach salvation earned by ritual performance.
Common misreadings of Psalms 50
Misreading: Psalm 50 addresses God’s own covenant community and must not be used for anti-Jewish or antisemitic claims. Its critique of sacrifice rejects transactional or hypocritical worship, not Israel, Judaism, embodied worship, generosity, or every sacrificial practice in its biblical setting. “The wicked” is a moral description of people whose conduct contradicts their words, not an ethnic, political, social, or economic class. The fire, tempest, and tearing imagery belongs to divine judgment and does not authorize human violence. God’s prior silence in verse 21 is not approval of abuse or wrongdoing, and verse 23 does not teach salvation earned by ritual performance.
In context: The rhetorical question about eating bulls and drinking goats’ blood exposes a transactional view of sacrifice, not every form of embodied worship or biblical sacrifice.
Misreading: Psalm 50 addresses God’s own covenant community and must not be used for anti-Jewish or antisemitic claims. Its critique of sacrifice rejects transactional or hypocritical worship, not Israel, Judaism, embodied worship, generosity, or every sacrificial practice in its biblical setting. “The wicked” is a moral description of people whose conduct contradicts their words, not an ethnic, political, social, or economic class. The fire, tempest, and tearing imagery belongs to divine judgment and does not authorize human violence. God’s prior silence in verse 21 is not approval of abuse or wrongdoing, and verse 23 does not teach salvation earned by ritual performance.
In context: God explains that his silence was mistaken for likeness to the wrongdoer, but now he rebukes and sets the case in order; delayed judgment is not divine approval of injustice or abuse.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 1 — Psalm 50 is a covenant-liturgy and wisdom-like judgment psalm in which God summons heaven and earth, rejects any idea that sacrifice feeds or obligates him, calls for thanksgiving and trust, and exposes the contradiction between reciting covenant words and practicing theft, sexual betrayal, deceit, and slander.
- Hosea 6 — Psalm 50 is a covenant-liturgy and wisdom-like judgment psalm in which God summons heaven and earth, rejects any idea that sacrifice feeds or obligates him, calls for thanksgiving and trust, and exposes the contradiction between reciting covenant words and practicing theft, sexual betrayal, deceit, and slander.
- Micah 6 — Psalm 50 is a covenant-liturgy and wisdom-like judgment psalm in which God summons heaven and earth, rejects any idea that sacrifice feeds or obligates him, calls for thanksgiving and trust, and exposes the contradiction between reciting covenant words and practicing theft, sexual betrayal, deceit, and slander.
Frequently asked questions about Psalms 50
Does Psalm 50 reject sacrifice?
Who are “the wicked” in Psalm 50?
What does Psalm 50:15 mean?
Sources & editorial notes
- Translation
- Commentary anchored in the public-domain Psalm 50 text used by the site (en).
- Authorship
- The superscription identifies Psalm 50 as a psalm of Asaph.
- Editorial process
- Chapter-specific synthesis checked against Psalm 50’s movement from divine summons to sacrificial correction, ethical rebuke, and thanksgiving.
References
- Psalm 50 — Primary text and covenant-judgment structure.
- Micah 6 — True worship, integrity, and thanksgiving.
Author: The Lord Will Editorial Team · Reviewed by: Ugo Candido · Updated: 2026-08-14