Psalms 50:16

Psalms 50:16 in other versions

• New International Version (NIV)But to the wicked person, God says: “What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips?
• English Standard Version (ESV)But to the wicked God says: "What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips?
• New King James Version (NKJV)But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to declare My statutes, Or take My covenant in your mouth,
• New Living Translation (NLT)But God says to the wicked: “Why bother reciting my decrees and pretending to obey my covenant?

Context of Psalms 50:16

14Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: 15And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? 17Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee. 18When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.

Psalms 50:16 word by word

וְלָ֤רָשָׁ֨ע׀ אָ֘מַ֤ר אֱלֹהִ֗ים מַה־לְּ֭ךָ לְסַפֵּ֣ר חֻקָּ֑י וַתִּשָּׂ֖א בְרִיתִ֣י עֲלֵי־פִֽיךָ׃Read the interlinear

• But unto the wickedרָשָׁעrâshâ‛ · wickedH7563
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• What hast thou to do to declareסָפַרsâphar · to recountH5608
• my statutesחֹקchôq · statute: decreeH2706
• thou shouldest takeנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: raiseH5375
• my covenantבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285
• in thy mouthפֶּהpeh · lipH6310

Cross-references for Psalms 50:16

• Isaiah 48:22There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.
• Isaiah 55:6Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
• Ezekiel 18:27Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
• Proverbs 26:7The legs of the lame are not equal: so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
• Isaiah 1:11To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
• Isaiah 48:1Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.
• Isaiah 58:1Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
• Jeremiah 7:4Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these.
• Matthew 7:3And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
• John 4:24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
• Acts 19:13Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
• Romans 2:17Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,
• 1 Corinthians 9:27But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
• 2 Peter 2:15Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
• Psalms 25:14The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.
• Psalms 78:36Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues.

Commentaries on Psalms 50:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16But unto the wicked - The bloodthirsty priests, proud Pharisees, and ignorant scribes of the Jewish people.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16But unto the wicked God saith - This commences a second part of the subject. See the introduction. Thus far the psalm had reference to those who were merely external worshippers, or mere formalists, as showing that such could not be approved and accepted in the day of judgment; that spiritual religion - the offering of the “heart” - was necessary in order to acceptance with God. In this part of the psalm the same principles are applied to those who…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-23Verses 16-23 Hypocrisy is wickedness, which God will judge. And it is too common, for those who declare the Lord's statutes to others, to live in disobedience to them themselves. This delusion arises from the abuse of God's long-suffering, and a wilful mistake of his character and the intention of his gospel. The sins of sinners will be fully proved on them in the judgment of the great day. The day is coming when God will set their sins in order, sins of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-21This message is against the wicked, who only pretend to listen to God.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 16-2016-20. the wicked--that is, the formalists, as now exposed, and who lead vicious lives (compare Ro 2:21, 23). They are unworthy to use even the words of God's law. Their hypocrisy and vice are exposed by illustrations from sins against the seventh, eighth, and ninth commandments.Read the comment

Topics related to Psalms 50:16

• Hypocrisy
• Wicked (People)
• Word of God

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Asaph
• Psalms
• Reprove
• Bible, the
• Korahites; Sons of Korah
• Psalms, Book of
• Sacrifice

Commentaries on Psalms 50

• 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
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings