< Psalms 50 >

1 A Psalm of Asaph. The God of gods — Jehovah — hath spoken, And He calleth to the earth From the rising of the sun unto its going in.
God, the all-powerful one, speaks; he summons all people, from the east to the west.
2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shone.
His glory shines from Zion [Hill in Jerusalem], an extremely beautiful city.
3 Our God cometh, and is not silent, Fire before Him doth devour, And round about him it hath been very tempestuous.
Our God comes to us, and he is not silent. A great fire is in front of him, and a storm is around him.
4 He doth call unto the heavens from above, And unto the earth, to judge His people.
He comes to judge his people. He shouts to the [angels in] heaven and to [the people on] the earth.
5 Gather ye to Me My saints, Making covenant with Me over a sacrifice.
He says, “Summon those who faithfully [worship] me, those who made an agreement with me by offering sacrifices to me.”
6 And the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself [is] judge. (Selah)
The [angels in] heaven declare, “God is righteous, and he is the supreme judge.”
7 Hear, O My people, and I speak, O Israel, and I testify against thee, God, thy God [am] I.
God says, “My people, listen! You Israeli people, listen, as I, your God, say what you have done that is wrong.
8 Not for thy sacrifices do I reprove thee, Yea, thy burnt-offerings [Are] before Me continually.
I am not rebuking you for making sacrifices to me, for the offerings that you completely burn [on the altar].
9 I take not from thy house a bullock, From thy folds he goats.
But I do not really need [you to sacrifice] the bulls from your barns and the goats from your pens,
10 For Mine [is] every beast of the forest, The cattle on the hills of oxen.
because all the animals in the forest belong to me, [and all] the cattle on 1,000 hills also belong to me.
11 I have known every fowl of the mountains, And the wild beast of the field [is] with Me.
I [own and] know all the birds and all [the creatures] that move around in the fields.
12 If I am hungry I tell not to thee, For Mine [is] the world and its fulness.
[So], if I were hungry, I would not tell you [to bring me some food], because everything in the world belongs to me!
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls, And drink the blood of he-goats?
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].
14 Sacrifice to God confession, And complete to the Most High thy vows.
The sacrifice [that I really want is that] you thank me and do all that you have promised to do.
15 And call Me in a day of adversity, I deliver thee, and thou honourest Me.
And pray to me when you have troubles. [If you do that], I will rescue you, and [then] you will praise me.
16 And to the wicked hath God said: What to thee — to recount My statutes? That thou liftest up My covenant on thy mouth?
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,
17 Yea, thou hast hated instruction, And dost cast My words behind thee.
because you have refused to allow me to discipline you, and you have rejected what I told you to do.
18 If thou hast seen a thief, Then thou art pleased with him, And with adulterers [is] thy portion.
Every time that you see a thief, you become his friend, and you spend [much] time with those who commit adultery.
19 Thy mouth thou hast sent forth with evil, And thy tongue joineth deceit together,
You are [always] talking [MTY] about doing wicked things, and you are [always] to deceive people.
20 Thou sittest, against thy brother thou speakest, Against a son of thy mother givest slander.
You are always accusing members of your own family [of doing wrong], and slandering them.
21 These thou didst, and I kept silent, Thou hast thought that I am like thee, I reprove thee, and set in array before thine eyes.
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.
22 Understand this, I pray you, Ye who are forgetting God, Lest I tear, and there is no deliverer.
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.
23 He who is sacrificing praise honoureth Me, As to him who maketh a way, I cause him to look on the salvation of God!
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.”

< Psalms 50 >