Psalms 50:1-8

Psalm 50¹

A psalm by Asaph.

50:1 El, God, the Lord² 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 condemning¹⁶ you because of your sacrifices,

or because of your burnt sacrifices that you continually offer me.¹⁷

¹sn 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.

²sn 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 Lord”). There is an obvious allusion here to Josh 22:22, the only other passage where these three names appear in succession. In that passage the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh declare, “El, God, the Lord! El, God, the Lord! He knows the truth! Israel must also know! If we have rebelled or disobeyed the Lord, don’t spare us today!” In that context the other tribes had accused the trans-Jordanian tribes of breaking God’s covenant by worshiping idols. The trans-Jordanian tribes appealed to “El, God, the Lord” as their witness that they were innocent of the charges brought against them. Ironically here in Ps 50 “El, God, the Lord” accuses his sinful covenant people of violating the covenant and warns that he will not spare them if they persist in their rebellion.

³tn Heb “and calls [the] earth from the sunrise to its going.”

⁴tn Heb “the perfection of beauty.”

⁵tn Or “shines forth.”

⁶tn 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.”

⁷tn Heb “fire before him devours, and around him it is very stormy.”

⁸tn Or perhaps “to testify against his people.”

⁹tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. God’s summons to the defendant follows.

¹⁰tn 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.

¹¹tn 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).

¹²tn Or “justice.”

¹³tn 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).

¹⁴tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. God’s charges against his people follow.

¹⁵tn Heb “Israel, and I will testify against you.” The imperative “listen” is understood in the second line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

¹⁶tn Or “rebuking.”

¹⁷tn Heb “and your burnt sacrifices before me continually.”