Bible Strands
Psalms 16:4
Sorrows will multiply to those who chase other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood, or speak their names with my lips.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist (David, by tradition) speaks to the LORD, drawing a hard line between the saints in the land (v.3) and those who pursue other gods. It is a declaration of exclusive loyalty framed as a refusal.
The words — מָהָרוּ (māhārû, "they hurried after") conveys eager pursuit, not casual drift—the idolater is actively chasing. יִרְבּוּ (yirbû, "they will increase") governs sorrows, suggesting multiplication rather than a single blow.
The thread — Exodus 23:13 and Joshua 23:7 both command Israel not to invoke the names of other gods, echoing the psalmist's refusal to "speak their names with my lips." Psalms 32:10 pairs the sorrows of the wicked with the trust of the LORD, mirroring the contrast here.
Why it lands — The verse asks the reader to name what they are actually pouring their cup for. It is a test of exclusivity: either the LORD is your portion (v.5) or your sorrows are multiplying.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.
Cross-references
- Exodus 23:13 Pay close attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.
- Joshua 23:7 So you are not to associate with these nations that remain among you. You must not call on the names of their gods or swear by them, and you must not serve them or bow down to them.
- Psalms 32:10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but loving devotion surrounds him who trusts in the LORD.
- Psalms 97:7 All worshipers of images are put to shame—those who boast in idols. Worship Him, all you gods!
- Jonah 2:8 Those who cling to worthless idols forsake His loving devotion.
- Isaiah 57:6 Your portion is among the smooth stones of the valley; indeed, they are your lot. Even to them you have poured out a drink offering and offered a grain offering. Should I relent because of these?
- Psalms 106:37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
- Genesis 35:14 So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken with him—a stone marker—and he poured out a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil.
- Leviticus 23:13 along with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil—a food offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering of a quarter hin of wine.
- Isaiah 65:11 But you who forsake the LORD, who forget My holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,