Psalm 50

God as Judge

A psalm of Asaph. ^a

¹The Mighty One, God, ^b the Lord, speaks;

he summons the earth

from the rising of the sun to its setting. ^c

²From Zion, the perfection of beauty,

God appears in radiance. ^d,^e

³Our God is coming; he will not be silent!

Devouring fire precedes him,

and a storm rages around him. ^f

⁴On high, he summons heaven and earth

in order to judge his people: ^g

⁵“Gather my faithful ones to me,

those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” ^h

⁶The heavens proclaim his righteousness, ⁱ

for God is the Judge. ^j Selah

⁷“Listen, my people, and I will speak;

I will testify against you, Israel.

I am God, your God. ^k

⁸I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices

or for your burnt offerings,

which are continually before me. ^l

⁹I will not take a bull from your household

or male goats from your pens, ^m

¹⁰for every animal of the forest is mine,

the cattle on a thousand hills.

¹¹I know every bird of the mountains,

and the creatures of the field are mine. ⁿ

¹²If I were hungry, I would not tell you,

for the world and everything in it is mine. ^o

¹³Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats? ^p

¹⁴Offer a thanksgiving sacrifice to God, ^q

and pay your vows to the Most High. ^r

¹⁵Call on me in a day of trouble;

I will rescue you, and you will honor me.” ^s

¹⁶But God says to the wicked:

“What right do you have to recite my statutes

and to take my covenant on your lips? ^t

¹⁷You hate instruction

and fling my words behind you. ^u

¹⁸When you see a thief,

you make friends with him,

and you associate with adulterers. ^v

¹⁹You unleash your mouth for evil

and harness your tongue for deceit. ^w

²⁰You sit, maligning your brother,

slandering your mother’s son. ^x

²¹You have done these things, and I kept silent;

you thought I was just like you. ^y

But I will rebuke you

and lay out the case before you. ^z,^aa

²²“Understand this, you who forget God,

or I will tear you apart,

and there will be no one to rescue you. ^ab

²³Whoever offers a thanksgiving sacrifice honors me,

and whoever orders his conduct,

I will show him the salvation of God.” ^ac