God’s Word Translation
Psalms 16:4
4Those who quickly chase after other gods multiply their sorrows. I will not pour out their sacrificial offerings of blood or use my lips to speak their names.
Psalms 16:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.
- New International Version (NIV)Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips.
- English Standard Version (ESV)The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god; Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, Nor take up their names on my lips.
Context of Psalms 16:4
2I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord. Without you, I have nothing good.” 3Those who lead holy lives on earth are the noble ones who fill me with joy. Those who quickly chase after other gods multiply their sorrows. I will not pour out their sacrificial offerings of blood or use my lips to speak their names. 5The Lord is my inheritance and my cup. You are the one who determines my destiny. 6Your boundary lines mark out pleasant places for me. Indeed, my inheritance is something beautiful.
Read all of Psalms 16Psalms 16:4 word by word
יִרְבּ֥וּ עַצְּבוֹתָם֮ אַחֵ֪ר מָ֫הָ֥רוּ בַּל־אַסִּ֣יךְ נִסְכֵּיהֶ֣ם מִדָּ֑ם וּֽבַל־אֶשָּׂ֥א אֶת־שְׁ֝מוֹתָ֗ם עַל־שְׂפָתָֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Their sorrowsעַצֶּ֫בֶת‛atstsebeth · injuryH6094
- shall be multipliedרָבָהrâbâh · to multiplyH7235
- hastenמָהַרmâhar · to hastenH4116
- anotherאַחֵר'achêr · anotherH312
- their drink offeringsנֶ֫סֶךְnesek nêsek · drink offeringH5262
- of bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
- will I not offerנָסַךְnâsak · to pourH5258
- norבַּלbal · notH1077
- take upנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: raiseH5375
- their namesשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
- into my lipsשָׂפָהώâphâh ώepheth · lipsH8193
Cross-references for Psalms 16:4
- Psalms 32:10Many heartaches await wicked people, but mercy surrounds those who trust the Lord.
- Psalms 97:7Everyone who worships idols and brags about false gods will be put to shame. All the gods will bow to him.
- Jonah 2:8Those who hold on to worthless idols abandon their loyalty ⌞to you⌟.
- Revelation 14:9Another angel, a third one, followed them, and said in a loud voice, “Whoever worships the beast or its statue, whoever is branded on his forehead or his hand,
- Revelation 18:4I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of Babylon, my people, so that you do not participate in her sins and suffer from any of her plagues.
- Genesis 35:14So Jacob set up a memorial, a stone marker, to mark the place where God had spoken with him. He poured a wine offering and olive oil on it.
- Leviticus 23:13Bring a grain offering of four quarts of flour mixed with olive oil with it. This will be a sacrifice by fire made to the Lord, a soothing aroma. Use one quart of wine for the wine offering.
- Isaiah 57:6Your idols are among the smooth stones in the ravine. They are your destiny. You have given them wine offerings and sacrificed grain offerings to them. Do you think I am pleased with all this?
- Isaiah 65:11You have abandoned the Lord and forgotten my holy mountain. You have prepared a table for the god of good fortune and offered cups full of spiced wine to the goddess of destiny.
- Isaiah 66:3Whoever kills a bull is like someone who kills a person. Whoever sacrifices a lamb is like someone who breaks a dog’s neck. Whoever offers a grain sacrifice is like someone who ⌞offers⌟ pig’s blood. Whoever burns incense is like someone who worships an idol. People have certainly chosen their own ways, and their souls delight in detestable things.
- Jeremiah 7:18Children gather wood, fathers light fires, and women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven. They pour out wine offerings to other gods in order to make me furious.
- Exodus 23:13“Be careful ⌞to do⌟ everything I told you. “Never mention the names of other gods or let them be heard on your lips.
- Joshua 23:7Don’t get mixed up with the nations left in your territory. Don’t ever mention the names of their gods or swear an oath to them. Don’t ever serve their gods or bow down to them.
- Hosea 2:16“On that day she will call me her husband,” declares the Lord. “She will no longer call me her master.
Commentaries on Psalms 16:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god - The Chaldee has: "They multiply their idols, and afterwards hasten that they may offer their gifts." In the Hebrew text there is no word for God, and therefore Messiah or Savior might be as well substituted; and then the whole will refer to the unbelieving Jews. They would not have the true Christ; they have sought, and are seeking, another Messiah; and how amply fulfilled has the prophetic…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Their sorrows shall be multiplied - The word here rendered “sorrows - עצבוּת ‛atstsebôth - may mean either idols or sorrows. Compare Isaiah 48:5; Psalm 139:24; Job 9:28; Psalm 147:3. Some propose to render it, “Their idols are multiplied;” that is, many are the gods which others worship, while I worship one God only. So Gesenius understands it. So also the Aramaic Paraphrase renders it. But the common construction is probably the correct one, meaning that…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The psalmist separates himself from unholy worship, rituals, and words (see Psalm 15:3–5).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. He expresses his abhorrence of those who seek other sources of happiness or objects of worship, and, by characterizing their rites by drink offerings of blood, clearly denotes idolaters. The word for "sorrows" is by some rendered "idols"; but, though a similar word to that for idols, it is not the same. In selecting such a term, there may be an allusion, by the author, to the sorrows produced by idolatrous practices.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 16:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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