Psalm 50:14-23
New Catholic Bible
14 “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving
and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
15 Then if you cry out to me in time of trouble,
I will rescue you, and you will honor me.”
16 [a]But to the wicked God says:
“How can you recite my statutes
or profess my covenant on your lips?
17 For you loathe my instruction
and cast my words behind you.
18 “When you meet a thief, you join him;
you revel in the company of adulterers.
19 You employ your mouth for evil,
and your tongue frames deceit.
20 “You willingly speak against your brother
and slander the child of your own mother.
21 When you do such things, can I remain silent?
Do you think that I am[b] like you?
I will correct you
and set the charge before your face.
22 “Remember this, you who forget God,[c]
lest I tear you to pieces
and there be no one to rescue you.
23 He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me;
to him who follows my way
I will show the salvation of God.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 50:16 Another type of formalism is to have religion or the law on one’s lips more than in one’s heart and life. There is no authentic faith unless it includes a moral commitment and notably that of justice and respect toward others: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my heavenly Father” (Mt 7:21).
- Psalm 50:21 I am: the formula that reveals the name of the Lord in the Old Testament (see Ex 3:14; Isa 41:4, 10, 14; 43:1-3, 10, 13). See notes on Mk 4:26; 6:50.
- Psalm 50:22 God: here the Hebrew is a relatively rare poetic word, Eloah, found frequently in Job (see also Pss 18:33; 139:19; Deut 32:15, 17; Hab 3:3).
Psalm 50:14-23
New King James Version
14 (A)Offer to God thanksgiving,
And (B)pay your vows to the Most High.
15 (C)Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,
17 (D)Seeing you hate instruction
And cast My words behind you?
18 When you saw a thief, you (E)consented[a] with him,
And have been a (F)partaker with adulterers.
19 You give your mouth to evil,
And (G)your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done, and I kept silent;
(H)You thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And (I)set them in order before your eyes.
22 “Now consider this, you who (J)forget God,
Lest I tear you in pieces,
And there be none to deliver:
23 Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And (K)to him who orders his conduct aright
I will show the salvation of God.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 50:18 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. ran
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
