A psalm by Asaph.
50:1 El, God, the Lord 2 speaks,
and summons the earth to come from the east and west. 3
50:2 From Zion, the most beautiful of all places, 4
God comes in splendor. 5
50:3 Our God approaches and is not silent; 6
consuming fire goes ahead of him
and all around him a storm rages. 7
50:4 He summons the heavens above,
as well as the earth, so that he might judge his people. 8
50:5 He says: 9
“Assemble my covenant people before me, 10
those who ratified a covenant with me by sacrifice!” 11
50:6 The heavens declare his fairness, 12
for God is judge. 13 (Selah)
50:7 He says: 14
“Listen my people! I am speaking!
Listen Israel! I am accusing you! 15
I am God, your God!
50:8 I am not condemning 16 you because of your sacrifices,
or because of your burnt sacrifices that you continually offer me. 17
50:9 I do not need to take 18 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. 19
50:11 I keep track of 20 every bird in the hills,
and the insects 21 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? 22
50:14 Present to God a thank-offering!
Repay your vows to the sovereign One! 23
1 sn Psalm 50. This psalm takes the form of a covenant lawsuit in which the Lord comes to confront his people in a formal manner (as in Isa 1:2-20). The Lord emphasizes that he places priority on obedience and genuine worship, not empty ritual.
2 sn Israel’s God is here identified with three names: El (אֵל [’el], or “God”), Elohim (אֱלֹהִים [’elohim], or “God”), and Yahweh (יְהוָה [yÿhvah] or “the
3 tn Heb “and calls [the] earth from the sunrise to its going.”
4 tn Heb “the perfection of beauty.”
5 tn Or “shines forth.”
6 tn According to GKC 322 §109.e, the jussive (note the negative particle אַל, ’al) is used rhetorically here “to express the conviction that something cannot or should not happen.”
7 tn Heb “fire before him devours, and around him it is very stormy.”
8 tn Or perhaps “to testify against his people.”
9 tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. God’s summons to the defendant follows.
10 tn Or “Gather to me my covenant people.” The Hebrew term חָסִיד (khasid, “covenant people”) elsewhere in the psalms is used in a positive sense of God’s loyal followers (see the note at Ps 4:3), but here, as the following line makes clear, the term has a neutral sense and simply refers to those who have outwardly sworn allegiance to God, not necessarily to those whose loyalty is genuine.
11 tn Heb “the cutters of my covenant according to sacrifice.” A sacrifice accompanied the covenant-making ceremony and formally ratified the agreement (see Exod 24:3-8).
12 tn Or “justice.”
13 tn Or “for God, he is about to judge.” The participle may be taken as substantival (as in the translation above) or as a predicate (indicating imminent future action in this context).
14 tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. God’s charges against his people follow.
15 tn Heb “Israel, and I will testify against you.” The imperative “listen” is understood in the second line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
16 tn Or “rebuking.”
17 tn Heb “and your burnt sacrifices before me continually.”
18 tn Or “I will not take.”
19 tn 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).
20 tn Heb “I know.”
21 tn 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.
22 tn The rhetorical questions assume an emphatic negative response, “Of course not!”
23 tn Heb “Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.