¹sn Israel’s God is here identified with three names: “El” (la, or “God”), “Elohim” (<yhla, or “God”), and “Yahweh” (hwhy, or “the Lord”). There is an obvious allusion here to Josh 22:22, the only other passage where these three names appear in succession. In that passage the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh declare, “El, God, the Lord! El, God, the Lord! He knows the truth! Israel must also know! If we have rebelled or disobeyed the Lord, don’t spare us today!” In that context the other tribes had accused the trans-Jordanian tribes of breaking God’s covenant by worshiping idols. The trans-Jordanian tribes appealed to “El, God, the Lord” as their witness that they were innocent of the charges brought against them. Ironically here in Ps 50 “El, God, the Lord” accuses his sinful covenant people of violating the covenant and warns that he will not spare them if they persist in their rebellion.
²tn Heb “and calls [the] earth from the sunrise to its going.”
³tn Heb “the perfection of beauty.”
⁴tn Or “shines forth.”
sn Comes in splendor. The psalmist may allude ironically to Deut 33:2, where God “shines forth” from Sinai and comes to superintend Moses’ blessing of the tribes.
⁵tn According to GKC §109.e, the jussive (note the negative particle la) is used rhetorically here “to express the conviction that something cannot or should not happen” (see also BDB 39).
⁶tn Heb “fire before him devours, and around him it is very stormy.”
⁷tn Or perhaps “to testify against his people.”
sn The personified heavens and earth (see v. 1 as well) are summoned to God’s courtroom as witnesses against God’s covenant people (see Isa 1:2). Long before this Moses warned the people that the heavens and earth would be watching their actions (see Deut 4:26; 30:19; 31:28; 32:1).
⁸tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. God’s summons to the defendant follows.
⁹tn Or “Gather to me my covenant people.” The Hebrew term <ydysj (“covenant people”) elsewhere in the psalms is used in a positive sense of God’s loyal followers (see the note at Ps 4:3), but here, as the following line makes clear, the term has a neutral sense and simply refers to those who have outwardly sworn allegiance to God, not necessarily to those whose loyalty is genuine.
¹⁰tn Heb “the cutters of my covenant according to sacrifice.” A sacrifice accompanied the covenant-making ceremony and formally ratified the agreement (see Exod 24:3-8).
¹¹tn Or “justice.”
¹²tn Or “for God, he is about to judge.” The participle may be taken as substantival (as in the translation above) or as a predicate (indicating imminent future action in this context).
¹³tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. God’s charges against his people follow.
¹⁴tn Heb “Israel, and I will testify against you.” The imperative “listen” is understood in the second line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
¹⁵tn Or “rebuking.”
¹⁶tn Heb “and your burnt sacrifices before me continually.”
¹⁷tn Or “I will not take.”
¹⁸tn Heb “[the] animals on a thousand hills.” The words “that graze” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The term hmhb (“animal”) refers here to cattle (see Ps 104:14).
¹⁹tn Heb “I know.”
²⁰tn The precise referent of the Hebrew word, which occurs only here and in Ps 80:13, is uncertain. Aramaic, Arabic and Akkadian cognates refer to insects, such as locusts or crickets (see HALOT 268).
²¹tn The rhetorical questions assume an emphatic negative response, “Of course not!”
²²tn Heb “Most High.” This divine title (/oyl=u#, u#l=yo/) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.
²³tn Heb “call [to] me in a day of trouble.”
²⁴tn Or “and honor you.”
sn In vv. 7-15 the Lord makes it clear that he was not rebuking Israel because they had failed to offer sacrifices (v. 8a). On the contrary, they had been faithful in doing so (v. 8b). However, their understanding of the essence of their relationship with God was confused. Apparently they believed that he needed/desired such sacrifices and that offering them would ensure their prosperity. But the Lord owns all the animals of the world and did not need Israel’s meager sacrifices (vv. 9-13). Other aspects of the relationship were more important to the Lord. He desired Israel to be thankful for his blessings (v. 14a), to demonstrate gratitude for his intervention by repaying the vows they made to him (v. 14b), and to acknowledge their absolute dependence on him (v. 15a). Rather than viewing their sacrifices as somehow essential to God’s well-being, they needed to understand their dependence on him.
²⁵tn Heb “evil [one].” The singular adjective is used here in a representative sense; it refers to those within the larger covenant community who have blatantly violated the Lord’s commandments. In the psalms the “wicked” (<yuvr) are typically proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander, and cheat others (Ps 37:21).
²⁶tn Heb “What to you to declare my commands and lift up my covenant upon your mouth?” The rhetorical question expresses sarcastic amazement. The Lord is shocked that such evildoers would give lip-service to his covenantal demands, for their lifestyle is completely opposed to his standards (see vv. 18-20).
²⁷tn Heb “and throw my words behind you.”
²⁸tn Heb “you run with him.”
²⁹tn Heb “and with adulterers [is] your portion.”
³⁰tn Heb “your mouth you send with evil.”
³¹tn Heb “and your tongue binds together [i.e., “frames”] deceit.”
³²tn Heb “you sit, against your brother you speak.” To “sit” and “speak” against someone implies plotting against that person (see Ps 119:23).
³³tn Heb “against the son of your mother you give a fault.”
³⁴tn Heb “these things you did and I was silent.” Some interpret the second clause (“and I was silent”) as a rhetorical question expecting a negative answer, “[When you do these things], should I keep silent?” (cf. NEB). See GKC §112.cc.
sn The Lord was silent in the sense that he delayed punishment. Of course, God’s patience toward sinners eventually runs out. The divine “silence” is only temporary (see v. 3, where the psalmist, having described God’s arrival, observes that “he is not silent”).
³⁵tn The Hebrew infinitive construct (twyh) appears to function like the infinitive absolute here, adding emphasis to the following finite verbal form (hyha). See GKC §113.a. Some prefer to emend twyh to the infinitive absolute form oyh*.
³⁶tn Or “rebuke” (see v. 8).
³⁷tn Heb “and I will set in order [my case against you] to your eyes.” The cohortative form expresses the Lord’s resolve to accuse and judge the wicked.
³⁸tn Heb “[you who] forget God.” “Forgetting God” here means forgetting about his commandments and not respecting his moral authority.
³⁹sn Elsewhere in the psalms this verb is used (within a metaphorical framework) of a lion tearing its prey (see Pss 7:2; 17:12; 22:13).
⁴⁰sn The reference to a thank-offering recalls the earlier statement made in v. 14. Gratitude characterizes genuine worship.
⁴¹tn Heb “and [to one who] sets a way I will show the deliverance of God.” Elsewhere the phrase “set a way” simply means “to travel” (see Gen 30:36; cf. NRSV). The present translation assumes an emendation of ird <cw to ykrd rmvw (“and [the one who] keeps my ways” [i.e., commands, see Pss 18:21; 37:34). Another option is to read wkrd rmvw (“and [the one who] guards his way,” i.e., “the one who is careful to follow a godly lifestyle”; see Ps 39:1).
⁴²sn Psalm 51. The psalmist confesses his sinfulness to God and begs for forgiveness and a transformation of his inner character. According to the psalm superscription, David offered this prayer when Nathan confronted him with his sin following the king’s affair with Bathsheba (see 2 Sam 11-12). However, the final two verses of the psalm hardly fit this situation, for they assume the walls of Jerusalem have been destroyed and that the sacrificial system has been temporarily suspended. These verses are probably an addition to the psalm made during the period of exile following the fall of Jerusalem in 586 b.c. The exiles could relate to David’s experience, for they, like him, and had been forced to confront their sin. They appropriated David’s ancient prayer and applied it to their own circumstances.
⁴³tn Heb “a psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him when he had gone to Bathsheba.”