Psalm 50:8 kjv
I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me.
Psalm 50:8 nkjv
I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices Or your burnt offerings, Which are continually before Me.
Psalm 50:8 niv
I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
Psalm 50:8 esv
Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me.
Psalm 50:8 nlt
I have no complaint about your sacrifices
or the burnt offerings you constantly offer.
Psalm 50 8 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Sam 15:22 | "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying... to obey is better than sacrifice..." | Obedience over ritual |
| Ps 51:16-17 | "For You will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; You will not be pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit..." | Heartfelt repentance over animal sacrifice |
| Prov 15:8 | "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight." | Wicked motives invalidate sacrifice |
| Prov 21:3 | "To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice." | Justice and righteousness preferred |
| Isa 1:11-17 | "What to Me is the multitude of your sacrifices?... I have had enough... learn to do good; seek justice..." | God rejects ritual without justice |
| Jer 7:21-23 | "Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices... For I did not speak... concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. But this command I gave them: 'Obey My voice...'" | Obedience, not merely sacrifice, was primary |
| Hos 6:6 | "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." | Love and knowledge of God over ritual |
| Amos 5:21-24 | "I hate, I despise your feasts... take away from Me the noise of your songs... let justice roll down..." | God rejects hollow religious acts |
| Mic 6:6-8 | "With what shall I come before the LORD?... He has told you, O man, what is good: and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" | True worship defined by justice and humility |
| Mt 9:13 | "Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.'" | Christ affirms spiritual intent over ritual |
| Mk 12:33 | "...to love Him with all the heart... and to love one's neighbor... is more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." | Love for God and neighbor trumps ritual |
| Ps 24:1 | "The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein." | God's absolute ownership, needing nothing |
| Deut 10:14 | "Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it." | God owns all, isn't dependent on human gifts |
| Job 41:11 | "Who has given to Me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine." | God is self-sufficient Creator |
| Acts 17:24-25 | "The God who made the world and everything in it... does not live in temples made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything..." | God is not reliant on human provision |
| Heb 9:11-14 | "But when Christ appeared as a high priest... he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood..." | Christ's perfect sacrifice transcends animal ones |
| Heb 10:1-4 | "For since the law has but a shadow... it can never, by the same sacrifices... make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered..." | Old Testament sacrifices imperfect/temporary |
| Rom 12:1 | "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." | Living as an offering: True worship now |
| Phil 4:18 | "...I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God." | Generosity as a spiritual sacrifice |
| Heb 13:15-16 | "Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise... to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." | Sacrifices of praise, good deeds, and sharing |
Psalm 50 verses
Psalm 50 8 Meaning
Psalm 50:8 signifies that God is not faulting His people for their adherence to the ritualistic requirements of the Mosaic Law, specifically concerning the frequency or quantity of their sacrifices and burnt offerings. Instead, it sets the stage for a deeper indictment: the problem is not with their external acts of worship, which are "continually before" Him, but with the lack of genuine faith, gratitude, justice, and understanding that should accompany these offerings. God implicitly corrects a widespread misunderstanding that such rituals could inherently appease Him or obligate Him, separate from the worshipper's internal state and covenant fidelity.
Psalm 50 8 Context
Psalm 50 is a majestic "covenant lawsuit" (Hebrew: riv) presented by God Himself through the psalmist Asaph. It depicts God as the Divine Judge, summoning heaven and earth as witnesses, and Israel (specifically, Judah) as the defendant. The setting is a grand theophany where God appears from Zion with consuming fire and a mighty tempest. This verse (50:8) marks the beginning of God's formal charge against His people. It addresses those who are meticulously performing religious rituals (sacrifices and burnt offerings) commanded by the Law, yet their hearts and lives are far from the spirit of the covenant. God first dispels a common misconception – that He is dissatisfied with the number of their sacrifices, or that He needs their offerings. This crucial clarification sets the stage for God to reveal what truly displeases Him, which are the deeper issues of their character, justice, and worship (vv. 9-23), contrasting external acts with internal reality. It challenges any notion that ritual observance alone guarantees God's favor or fulfils covenant obligations.
Psalm 50 8 Word analysis
"I" (אָנֹכִי - ’ānōḵî): Refers to God, the sovereign speaker and Judge. The use of this strong, personal pronoun emphasizes His direct address and authority, common in covenant statements (e.g., Exod 20:2).
"do not rebuke" (לֹא תוֹכִיחֶךָ - lō’ ṯōwḵīḥeḵā): This phrase literally means "I do not find fault with you," "I do not contend with you," or "I do not censure you." It does not mean God approves of all their sacrifices but clarifies that His complaint is not about the absence or inadequacy of the rituals themselves. He is not accusing them of neglecting their prescribed duties. Instead, His rebuke will be for something else entirely.
"you for your sacrifices" (עַל-זְבָחֶיךָ - ‘al-zəḇāḥeḵā): Zəḇāḥeḵā (sacrifices) refers to a broad category of offerings, including peace offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings. These were expressions of fellowship, atonement, or gratitude, prescribed in the Mosaic Law. God is stating that the performance of these rituals is not the point of His current indictment.
"nor your burnt offerings" (וְעֹלוֹתֶיךָ - wə‘ōlōṯeḵā): ‘Ōlōṯeḵā (burnt offerings) specifically refers to ‘olōh, offerings entirely consumed by fire upon the altar, often symbolizing complete dedication, atonement, or general thanksgiving. Including both "sacrifices" and "burnt offerings" ensures comprehensiveness, indicating all regular, prescribed ritual offerings.
"which are continually before me" (תָמִיד לְנֶגְדִּי - tāmîḏ ləneḡdî): Tāmîḏ means "continually," "regularly," or "always." Ləneḡdî means "before Me" or "in My presence." This phrase confirms that the people were diligent and consistent in their ritual observances, implying they met the external requirements. This further strengthens the point that God's complaint is not about ritual negligence but about internal corruption or misunderstanding.
Words-group analysis:
- "I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices, nor your burnt offerings": This declaration acts as a powerful preamble. God preemptively dismisses one potential cause for His "lawsuit" against Israel. It addresses a common misconception that God's primary concern or grievance would be about the meticulous adherence to or negligence of ritual law. By stating this explicitly, God signals that His actual charges are deeper and more profound, involving the spirit and intent behind the rituals rather than the rituals themselves.
- "which are continually before me": This phrase confirms the consistent execution of the commanded rituals. It establishes the people's technical religious compliance, yet this very consistency highlights the paradox of their spiritual state. It implies a sense of routine performance without transformative impact on their hearts or lives, making the upcoming critique about true worship even more potent.
Psalm 50 8 Bonus section
- This verse is crucial in distinguishing true worship from mere religious performance. It emphasizes that God values the worshiper's heart, obedience, and understanding of His character more than any external religious act, even those He Himself commanded.
- The rhetorical structure of starting with a denial ("I do not rebuke you for...") immediately grabs the audience's attention, preparing them for the unexpected truth of what God does require. It acts as a divine red herring before revealing the real issue.
- This verse, and Psalm 50 as a whole, functions as a strong polemic against pagan notions prevalent in the Ancient Near East, where gods were often thought to literally require or consume human sacrifices and food offerings to sustain themselves or be appeased. God utterly refutes this idea by emphasizing His absolute self-sufficiency and sovereignty (vv. 9-13). He needs nothing from humanity.
Psalm 50 8 Commentary
Psalm 50:8 marks a pivotal moment in God's divine address, functioning as a necessary preliminary clarification before the core indictment begins. God's declaration that He does not "rebuke" His people for their numerous and consistent sacrifices and burnt offerings is counter-intuitive for the human mind. People often believe that strict adherence to religious rites, or a high quantity of outward religious activity, is what God primarily demands and that its absence is what provokes His wrath.
However, God dispels this notion entirely. He is not interested in criticizing the act of sacrifice itself, for these very rituals were part of His divine law. Rather, the issue is not the offering but the offerer. The consistency of their rituals ("continually before Me") underlines that the problem lies elsewhere: in the profound disconnect between outward piety and inner reality. They diligently performed the form of worship, but their hearts were far from Him, their lives devoid of true justice, mercy, and gratitude. This verse powerfully undermines any reliance on religious formalism or the transactional idea that God can be obligated or fed by human efforts, setting the stage for the true divine requirements articulated in verses that follow.