Psalms 50:7-13

50:7 He says:¹

“Listen my people! I am speaking!

Listen Israel! I am accusing you!²

I am God, your God!

50:8 I am not condemning³ you because of your sacrifices,

or because of your burnt sacrifices that you continually offer me.⁴

50:9 I do not need to take⁵ a bull from your household

or goats from your sheepfolds.

50:10 For every wild animal in the forest belongs to me,

as well as the cattle that graze on a thousand hills.⁶

50:11 I keep track of⁷ every bird in the hills,

and the insects⁸ of the field are mine.

50:12 Even if I were hungry, I would not tell you,

for the world and all it contains belong to me.

50:13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls?

Do I drink the blood of goats?⁹

Psalms 50:16-17

50:16 God says this to the evildoer:¹⁰

“How can you declare my commands,

and talk about my covenant?¹¹

50:17 For you hate instruction

and reject my words.¹²

¹tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. God’s charges against his people follow.

²tn Heb “Israel, and I will testify against you.” The imperative “listen” is understood in the second line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

³tn Or “rebuking.”

⁴tn Heb “and your burnt sacrifices before me continually.”

⁵tn Or “I will not take.”

⁶tn Heb “[the] animals on a thousand hills.” The words “that graze” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The term בְּהֵמוֹה (bÿhemot, “animal”) refers here to cattle (see Ps 104:14).

⁷tn Heb “I know.”

⁸tn The precise referent of the Hebrew word, which occurs only here and in Ps 80:13, is uncertain. Aramaic, Arabic and Akkadian cognates refer to insects, such as locusts or crickets.

⁹tn The rhetorical questions assume an emphatic negative response, “Of course not!”

¹⁰tn Heb “evil [one].” The singular adjective is used here in a representative sense; it refers to those within the larger covenant community who have blatantly violated the Lord’s commandments. In the psalms the “wicked” (רְשָׁעִים, rÿsha’im) are typically proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander, and cheat others (Ps 37:21).

¹¹tn Heb “What to you to declare my commands and lift up my covenant upon your mouth?” The rhetorical question expresses sarcastic amazement. The Lord is shocked that such evildoers would give lip-service to his covenantal demands, for their lifestyle is completely opposed to his standards (see vv. 18-20).

¹²tn Heb “and throw my words behind you.”