Psalm 49 — The Holy Bible

A psalm for Asaph.

The God of gods, the Lord, spoke, and summoned the earth

From the sun's rising to its very setting.

From Zion in beauty's splendor,

God will come openly;

He is our God, and He shall not be silent;

A fire shall be kindled before Him,

And there shall be a mighty storm round about Him.

He shall summon heaven above

And the earth to judge His people;

Gather His holy ones to Him,

Who establish His covenant upon sacrifices;

And the heavens declare His righteousness,

For God is Judge.

(Pause)

Hear, O my people, and I will speak to you,

O Israel, and I will testify against you;

I am God, your God.

I will not find fault with your sacrifices,

Because your whole burnt offerings are continually before Me.

I will not accept a young bull from your house,

Nor he-goats from your flocks.

For all the wild animals of the forest are Mine,

The cattle and the oxen in the hills.

I know all the birds of heaven,

And the ripe fruit of the field is with Me.

If I were hungry, I would not tell you;

For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.

Will I eat the flesh of bulls,

Or drink the blood of goats?

Offer to God a sacrifice of praise,

And pay your vows to the Most High.

Call upon Me in the day of affliction,

And I will deliver you; and you shall glorify Me.

(Pause)

To the sinner God says,

“Why do you declare My ordinances,

And take up My covenant in your mouth?

You hate My instruction,

And cast My words behind you.

If you see a thief, you run with him,

And you keep company with adulterers.

Your mouth is filled with evil,

And your tongue weaves deceits.

You sit and speak against your brother,

And place a stumbling block before your mother's son.

You do these things, and I keep silent;

You think I am lawless like you;

But I shall rebuke you, and contradict you to your face.

Understand these things, you who forget God,

Lest He snatch you away, and there be none to deliver;

A sacrifice of praise shall glorify Me,

And there is the way whereby I will show him the salvation of God.”