Psalm 46-50
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 46
God Our Refuge
For the choir director. A song of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth.(A)
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a helper who is always found
in times of trouble.(B)
2 Therefore we will not be afraid,
though the earth trembles
and the mountains topple
into the depths of the seas,(C)
3 though its water roars and foams
and the mountains quake with its turmoil.(D)Selah
4 There is a river—
its streams delight the city of God,
the holy dwelling place of the Most High.(E)
5 God is within her; she will not be toppled.
God will help her when the morning dawns.(F)
6 Nations rage, kingdoms topple;
the earth melts when he lifts his voice.(G)
7 The Lord of Armies is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.(H)Selah
8 Come, see the works of the Lord,
who brings devastation on the earth.(I)
9 He makes wars cease throughout the earth.
He shatters bows and cuts spears to pieces;
he sets wagons ablaze.(J)
10 “Stop fighting, and know that I am God,
exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”(K)
11 The Lord of Armies is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.(L)Selah
Psalm 47
God Our King
For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
1 Clap your hands, all you peoples;(M)
shout to God with a jubilant cry.(N)
2 For the Lord, the Most High, is awe-inspiring,
a great King over the whole earth.(O)
3 He subdues peoples under us
and nations under our feet.(P)
4 He chooses for us our inheritance—
the pride of Jacob, whom he loves.(Q)Selah
5 God ascends among shouts of joy,
the Lord, with the sound of a ram’s horn.(R)
6 Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our King, sing praise!(S)
7 Sing a song of wisdom,[a]
for God is King of the whole earth.(T)
8 God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.(U)
9 The nobles of the peoples have assembled
with the people of the God of Abraham.(V)
For the leaders[b] of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.(W)
Psalm 48
Zion Exalted
A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
1 The Lord is great and highly praised
in the city of our God.(X)
His holy mountain, 2 rising splendidly,
is the joy of the whole earth.
Mount Zion—the summit of Zaphon—
is the city of the great King.(Y)
3 God is known as a stronghold
in its citadels.(Z)
4 Look! The kings assembled;
they advanced together.(AA)
5 They looked and froze with fear;
they fled in terror.(AB)
6 Trembling seized them there,
agony like that of a woman in labor,(AC)
7 as you wrecked the ships of Tarshish
with the east wind.(AD)
8 Just as we heard, so we have seen
in the city of the Lord of Armies,
in the city of our God;
God will establish it forever.(AE)Selah
9 God, within your temple,
we contemplate your faithful love.(AF)
10 Like your name, God, so your praise
reaches to the ends of the earth;(AG)
your right hand is filled with justice.(AH)
11 Mount Zion is glad.
Judah’s villages[c] rejoice
because of your judgments.(AI)
12 Go around Zion, encircle it;
count its towers,
13 note its ramparts; tour its citadels
so that you can tell a future generation:(AJ)
14 “This God, our God forever and ever—
he will always lead us.”[d](AK)
Psalm 49
Misplaced Trust in Wealth
For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
1 Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who inhabit the world,(AL)
2 both low and high,
rich and poor together.(AM)
3 My mouth speaks wisdom;
my heart’s meditation brings understanding.(AN)
4 I turn my ear to a proverb;
I explain my riddle with a lyre.(AO)
5 Why should I fear in times of trouble?
The iniquity of my foes surrounds me.(AP)
6 They trust in their wealth
and boast of their abundant riches.(AQ)
7 Yet these cannot redeem a person[e]
or pay his ransom to God(AR)—
8 since the price of redeeming him is too costly,
one should forever stop trying[f](AS)—
9 so that he may live forever
and not see the Pit.(AT)
10 For one can see that the wise die;
the foolish and stupid also pass away.(AU)
Then they leave their wealth to others.(AV)
11 Their graves are their permanent homes,[g]
their dwellings from generation to generation,
though they have named estates after themselves.(AW)
12 But despite his assets,[h] mankind will not last;
he is like the animals that perish.(AX)
13 This is the way of those who are arrogant,
and of their followers,
who approve of their words.[i](AY)Selah
14 Like sheep they are headed for Sheol;
Death will shepherd them.
The upright will rule over them in the morning,(AZ)
and their form will waste away in Sheol,[j]
far from their lofty abode.(BA)
15 But God will redeem me
from the power of Sheol,
for he will take me.(BB)Selah
16 Do not be afraid when a person gets rich,
when the wealth[k] of his house increases.(BC)
17 For when he dies, he will take nothing at all;
his wealth will not follow him down.(BD)
18 Though he blesses himself during his lifetime—
and you are acclaimed when you do well for yourself(BE)—
19 he will go to the generation of his ancestors;
they will never see the light.(BF)
20 Mankind, with his assets
but without understanding,
is like the animals that perish.(BG)
Psalm 50
God as Judge
A psalm of Asaph.(BH)
1 The Mighty One, God,[l] the Lord, speaks;
he summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.(BI)
2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God appears in radiance.[m](BJ)
3 Our God is coming; he will not be silent!
Devouring fire precedes him,
and a storm rages around him.(BK)
4 On high, he summons heaven and earth
in order to judge his people:(BL)
5 “Gather my faithful ones to me,
those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”(BM)
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,(BN)
for God is the Judge.(BO)Selah
7 “Listen, my people, and I will speak;
I will testify against you, Israel.
I am God, your God.(BP)
8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices
or for your burnt offerings,
which are continually before me.(BQ)
9 I will not take a bull from your household
or male goats from your pens,(BR)
10 for every animal of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird of the mountains,
and the creatures of the field are mine.(BS)
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and everything in it is mine.(BT)
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?(BU)
14 Offer a thanksgiving sacrifice to God,(BV)
and pay your vows to the Most High.(BW)
15 Call on me in a day of trouble;
I will rescue you, and you will honor me.”(BX)
16 But God says to the wicked:
“What right do you have to recite my statutes
and to take my covenant on your lips?(BY)
17 You hate instruction
and fling my words behind you.(BZ)
18 When you see a thief,
you make friends with him,
and you associate with adulterers.(CA)
19 You unleash your mouth for evil
and harness your tongue for deceit.(CB)
20 You sit, maligning your brother,
slandering your mother’s son.(CC)
21 You have done these things, and I kept silent;
you thought I was just like you.(CD)
But I will rebuke you
and lay out the case before you.[n](CE)
22 “Understand this, you who forget God,
or I will tear you apart,
and there will be no one to rescue you.(CF)
23 Whoever offers a thanksgiving sacrifice honors me,
and whoever orders his conduct,
I will show him the salvation of God.”(CG)
Footnotes
- 47:7 Or Sing a maskil
- 47:9 Lit shields
- 48:11 Lit daughters
- 48:14 Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss read over death
- 49:7 Or Certainly he cannot redeem himself, or Yet he cannot redeem a brother
- 49:8 Or costly, it will cease forever
- 49:11 LXX, Syr, Tg; MT reads Their inner thought is that their houses are eternal
- 49:12 Or honor
- 49:13 Lit and after them with their mouth they were pleased
- 49:14 Hb obscure
- 49:16 Or glory, also in v. 17
- 50:1 Or The God of gods
- 50:2 Or God shines forth
- 50:21 Lit lay it out before your eyes
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
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