< Psalms 50 >
1 “A psalm of Asaph.” The mighty God, Jehovah, speaketh, and calleth the earth, From the rising of the sun to its going down.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shineth forth.
3 Our God cometh, and will not be silent; Before him is a devouring fire, And around him a raging tempest.
4 He calleth to the heavens on high, And to the earth, while he judgeth his people:
5 “Gather together before me my godly ones, Who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6 (And the heavens shall declare his righteousness, For it is God himself that is judge., Pause)
7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak! O Israel, and I will testify against thee! For I am God, thine own God.
8 I reprove thee not on account of thy sacrifices; For thy burnt-offerings are ever before me.
9 I will take no bullock from thy house, Nor he-goat from thy folds;
10 For all the beasts of the forest are mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are before me.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; For the world is mine, and all that is therein.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay thy vows to the Most High!
15 Then call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me!”
16 And to the wicked God saith, “To what purpose dost thou talk of my statutes? And why hast thou my laws upon thy lips?—
17 Thou, who hatest instruction And castest my words behind thee!
18 When thou seest a thief, thou art in friendship with him, And hast fellowship with adulterers.
19 Thou lettest loose thy mouth to evil, And thy tongue frameth deceit;
20 Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; Thou slanderest thine own mother's son.
21 These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; Hence thou thoughtest that I was altogether like thyself: But I will reprove thee, and set it in order before thine eyes.
22 Mark this, ye that forget God, Lest I tear you in pieces, and none deliver you!
23 Whoso offereth praise honoreth me; And to him who hath regard to his ways Will I show salvation from God.”