Psalm 50

1 The Mighty One, God, the LORD, speaks, and calls the earth from sunrise to sunset.

2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines out.

3 Our God comes, and does not keep silent. A fire devours before him. It is very stormy around him.

4 He calls to the heavens above, to the earth, that he may judge his people:

5 “Gather my saints together to me, those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”

6 The heavens shall declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge. Selah.

7 “Hear, my people, and I will speak. Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God.

8 I don’t rebuke you for your sacrifices. Your burnt offerings are continually before me.

9 I have no need for a bull from your stall, nor male goats from your pens.

10 For every animal of the forest is mine, and the livestock on a thousand hills.

11 I know all the birds of the mountains. The wild animals of the field are mine.

12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

13 Will I eat the meat of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?

14 Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Pay your vows to the Most High.

15 Call on me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”

16 But to the wicked God says, “What right do you have to declare my statutes, that you have taken my covenant on your lips,

17 since you hate instruction, and throw my words behind you?

18 When you saw a thief, you consented with him, and have participated with adulterers.

19 “You give your mouth to evil. Your tongue frames deceit.

20 You sit and speak against your brother. You slander your own mother’s son.

21 You have done these things, and I kept silent. You thought that I was just like you. I will rebuke you, and accuse you in front of your eyes.

22 “Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you into pieces, and there be no one to deliver.

23 Whoever offers the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies me, and prepares his way so that I will show God’s salvation to him.”

Around Psalm 50

Book context

PsalmsEditorial draft

Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers used in Israel’s worship, written by several people over a long period. Headings name David most often, along with Asaph, the sons of Korah and others. The collection falls into five books, each ending with a short blessing of the LORD (41:13, 72:19, 89:52, 106:48), and it closes with a call for everything that has breath to praise the LORD (150:6). The psalms hold praise, lament, thanksgiving, confession and trust, so readers find words for nearly every season of life.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · broad consensus · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

About Psalms as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

“How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?” A prayer can begin like that, and in the Psalms it does. Four times the poet asks how long, and then, in the same short song, comes the turn: “But I trust in your loving kindness.”

That honesty runs through the whole book. Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers, and it holds praise, thanksgiving, lament, confession, songs for the king, and reflections on wisdom and on God's law. It is arranged in five books and moves, on the whole, from many laments at the start to pure praise at the end.

Joy, fear, anger, guilt and doubt are all spoken to God directly.

Background

The psalms were written and gathered over several centuries. Their headings link about half of them with David and others with Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and Moses. They were sung in the worship of the temple and later in synagogues and churches.

How Christians read it

Jews and Christians have prayed the Psalms daily for well over two thousand years. The New Testament quotes them more than any other book and reads many as speaking of Christ, among them Psalms 2, 22 and 110. The psalms that call for judgment on enemies are hard to read. Many understand them as handing vengeance over to God instead of taking it oneself.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes