Psalm 50 9

Psalm 50:9 kjv

I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds.

Psalm 50:9 nkjv

I will not take a bull from your house, Nor goats out of your folds.

Psalm 50:9 niv

I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens,

Psalm 50:9 esv

I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds.

Psalm 50:9 nlt

But I do not need the bulls from your barns
or the goats from your pens.

Psalm 50 verses

Psalm 50 9 Meaning

Psalm 50:9 declares God's independence from human offerings. He asserts that He does not need or accept sacrifices, specifically bulls and goats, as if He were lacking anything or reliant upon humanity for His sustenance. The verse underlines God's self-sufficiency and critiques the common misunderstanding that He is served by the outward ritual of sacrifice divorced from an obedient heart and righteous living.

Psalm 50 9 Context

Psalm 50 portrays God, "the Mighty One, God the LORD," as a judge convening a cosmic courtroom. He summons Israel (His covenant people) to account, not to demand more physical sacrifices, but to correct their deep misunderstanding of worship and their hypocritical lifestyle. The psalm immediately clarifies that Israel was offering sacrifices (v. 8), but God proceeds to dismiss their efficacy when offered purely ritualistically, devoid of heart-felt obedience and integrity. This verse, Psalm 50:9, sets the stage for God's indictment against His people's external religiosity versus their internal corruption.

Historically and culturally, ancient Near Eastern pagan religions often depicted their gods as being dependent on human offerings for sustenance or appeasement. God's declaration here is a direct polemic against such beliefs, forcefully asserting His transcendence (He needs nothing from humans) and self-sufficiency (He owns everything). For Israel, who practiced the God-ordained sacrificial system, this verse served as a stark correction, challenging any who reduced worship to a mechanical exchange or who believed ritual performance alone could compensate for unrighteous living. It reminded them that the essence of their covenant relationship with God was obedience and devotion, not merely ceremony.

Psalm 50 9 Word analysis

• "I" (אֱלֹהִים, Elohim): The implied subject is God Himself, the divine judge introduced earlier in the psalm (v. 1). The direct, first-person statement ("I will not accept") emphasizes God's personal, sovereign decree and His authority in defining true worship.
• "will not accept" (לֹא אֶקַּח, lo' eqqach): A strong negative affirmation using the Hebrew particle lo' (no, not) with the verb laqach (to take, accept, receive). This is a definitive rejection. It implies that from God's perspective, such offerings are valueless, even though they were commanded under the Mosaic covenant. The refusal stems from the context and the spirit in which the offerings are presented, not from a fundamental repudiation of sacrifice itself, but a repudiation of its mechanical performance.
• "a bull" (פָר, par): Refers to a male bovine, often a significant and costly offering in the Israelite sacrificial system, used for various sin offerings and burnt offerings, symbolizing significant atonement or devotion. Its mention highlights that even the most substantial animal sacrifices, though divinely commanded for specific purposes, hold no intrinsic value to God when the heart of the offerer is wrong.
• "from your house" (מִבֵּיתְךָ, mibbeytekha): Literally "from your household/temple." Here, it signifies a private source, the personal resources and property from which individuals or families would bring their sacrifices to the tabernacle/temple. This specifies that even the personally acquired and provided sacrifices are rejected if the spirit behind them is wanting.
• "or goats" (וַעֲתּוּדִים, va‘attudim): Specifically "male goats." Like bulls, goats were common sacrificial animals used in various offerings, including the sin offering and fellowship offering. The inclusion signifies a breadth of common, perhaps routine, offerings that God finds unacceptable in this context.
• "from your folds" (מִמִּכְלְאֹתֶיךָ, mimmikhle’oteykha): "Folds" or "enclosures" refer to the pens or pastures where livestock are kept. This term further emphasizes the common, ready source of the animals, highlighting that even abundantly available and easily offered sacrifices from one's possessions are of no use to God if the proper heart and obedience are missing.

Words-group analysis:

• "I will not accept a bull...or goats": This phrasing dismisses the core items of Israel's sacrificial worship. It's a forceful negation, not of the act of sacrifice in isolation, but of its ability to please God when given for the wrong reasons, from an unrighteous heart, or under the misguided assumption that God needs them. It reveals God's perfect sufficiency.
• "from your house or goats from your folds": The parallel structure and specific sources emphasize that it's their possession, their best, which God rejects not because of its intrinsic value or their sacrifice, but because the giver is the problem. It challenges the human tendency to offer material things as a substitute for true devotion and a changed life.

Psalm 50 9 Bonus section

• This verse represents a vital prophetic critique common throughout the Old Testament (e.g., Isa 1, Jer 7, Amos 5). It asserts that God looks at the heart, not just the hands.
• The legal context of Psalm 50 – God as judge calling His covenant people to court – underscores the gravity of His pronouncements regarding worship. This verse is part of God's case against the empty ritualism that had permeated their practice.
• The transition from the literal sacrifice of animals to "sacrifices of righteousness" (Psa 4:5), "sacrifices of praise" (Psa 116:17), and a "broken spirit" (Psa 51:17) reveals a consistent biblical trajectory towards the spiritualization of worship, which culminates in New Testament teaching on worshipping "in spirit and truth" (John 4:24).
• It reinforces God's divine independence and transcendence, contrasting Him sharply with human needs and the perception of pagan deities. God cannot be manipulated or appeased by offerings if the Giver's heart is not genuinely devoted to Him.

Psalm 50 9 Commentary

Psalm 50:9 functions as a pivotal statement in God's indictment against His people. It reveals a profound theological truth about God's nature: His utter self-sufficiency (aseity). Unlike human rulers who might levy taxes or need resources, God is the Creator and Owner of everything (Psalm 24:1). He does not "need" to be sustained or appeased by bulls and goats, as if He were somehow incomplete without human offerings. The very act of sacrificing such animals under the assumption that God somehow derives benefit or is pleased by the physical act alone demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of who God is and what true worship entails.

The verse is a strong critique of mechanical, externalized religion. God's issue is not that the people were neglecting sacrifices (He acknowledges their frequency in v. 8), but that their hearts were far from Him. They were performing religious rituals as a substitute for obedience, righteousness, and heartfelt gratitude. True worship, as articulated throughout the Old Testament prophets and affirmed in the New Testament, is internal, moral, and relational. It's about a life transformed by God's laws, motivated by love, and expressed through spiritual acts like thanksgiving (Psa 50:14), sincere repentance (Psa 51:17), and obedience (1 Sam 15:22). This verse pushes past the visible act to demand a holy, righteous lifestyle. Ultimately, it anticipates the New Covenant truth that the external rituals pointed to a spiritual reality, fully embodied in Christ's perfect sacrifice and now expressed in Spirit-led worship and righteous living (Heb 10:4-10; Rom 12:1).

• Examples: A person who attends church regularly but engages in dishonest business practices during the week; someone who gives generously to charity but mistreats their family; or someone who prides themselves on their theological knowledge but lacks compassion for others. In each case, the outward "sacrifice" (church attendance, giving, knowledge) is "unaccepted" if divorced from the spirit of truth, righteousness, and love.