Psalms 50
1 God, the all-powerful one, speaks; he summons all people, from the east to the west.
A Psalm of Asaph. The God of gods, the Lord has spoken, and he has called the earth, from the rising of the sun even to its setting,
2 His glory shines from Zion [Hill in Jerusalem], an extremely beautiful city.
from Zion, the brilliance of his beauty.
3 Our God comes to us, and he is not silent. A great fire is in front of him, and a storm is around him.
God will arrive manifestly. Our God also will not keep silence. A fire will flare up in his sight, and a mighty tempest will surround him.
4 He comes to judge his people. He shouts to the [angels in] heaven and to [the people on] the earth.
He will call to heaven from above, and to the earth, to discern his people.
5 He says, “Summon those who faithfully [worship] me, those who made an agreement with me by offering sacrifices to me.”
Gather his holy ones to him, you who order his covenant above sacrifices.
6 The [angels in] heaven declare, “God is righteous, and he is the supreme judge.”
And the heavens will announce his justice. For God is the judge.
7 God says, “My people, listen! You Israeli people, listen, as I, your God, say what you have done that is wrong.
Listen, my people, and I will speak. Listen, Israel, and I will testify for you. I am God, your God.
8 I am not rebuking you for making sacrifices to me, for the offerings that you completely burn [on the altar].
I will not reprove you for your sacrifices. Moreover, your holocausts are ever in my sight.
9 But I do not really need [you to sacrifice] the bulls from your barns and the goats from your pens,
I will not accept calves from your house, nor he-goats from your flocks.
10 because all the animals in the forest belong to me, [and all] the cattle on 1,000 hills also belong to me.
For all the wild beasts of the forest are mine: the cattle on the hills and the oxen.
11 I [own and] know all the birds and all [the creatures] that move around in the fields.
I know all the flying things of the air, and the beauty of the field is with me.
12 [So], if I were hungry, I would not tell you [to bring me some food], because everything in the world belongs to me!
If I should be hungry, I would not tell you: for the whole world is mine, and all its plentitude.
13 I do not eat the flesh of the bulls [that you sacrifice], and I do not drink the blood of the goats [that you offer to me].
Shall I gnaw on the flesh of bulls? Or would I drink the blood of goats?
14 The sacrifice [that I really want is that] you thank me and do all that you have promised to do.
Offer to God the sacrifice of praise, and pay your vows to the Most High.
15 And pray to me when you have troubles. [If you do that], I will rescue you, and [then] you will praise me.
And call upon me in the day of tribulation. I will rescue you, and you will honor me.
16 But I say this to the wicked people: (Why do you/It does not benefit you at all to) [RHQ] recite my commandments or talk about the agreement that I made with you,
But to the sinner, God has said: Why do you discourse on my justices, and take up my covenant through your mouth?
17 because you have refused to allow me to discipline you, and you have rejected what I told you to do.
Truly, you have hated discipline, and you have cast my sermons behind you.
18 Every time that you see a thief, you become his friend, and you spend [much] time with those who commit adultery.
If you saw a thief, you ran with him, and you have placed your portion with adulterers.
19 You are [always] talking [MTY] about doing wicked things, and you are [always] to deceive people.
Your mouth has abounded with malice, and your tongue has concocted deceits.
20 You are always accusing members of your own family [of doing wrong], and slandering them.
Sitting, you spoke against your brother, and you set up a scandal against your mother’s son.
21 You did [all] those things, and I did not say anything to you, [so] you thought that I was [a sinner] just like you. But now I rebuke you and accuse you, right in front of you.
These things you have done, and I was silent. You thought, unjustly, that I ought to be like you. But I will reprove you, and I will set myself against your face.
22 So, all you who have ignored me, pay attention to this, because if you do not, I will tear you to pieces, and there will be no one to rescue you.
Understand these things, you who forget God; lest at any time, he might quickly take you away, and there would be no one to rescue you.
23 The sacrifice that [truly] honors me is to thank me [for what I have done]; and I will save those who always do the things that I want them to.”
The sacrifice of praise will honor me. And in that place is the journey by which I will reveal to him the salvation of God.
