Bible Strands
Psalms 50:16
To the wicked, however, God says, “What right have you to recite My statutes and to bear My covenant on your lips?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks to the wicked within a judicial context, contrasting His deliverance for those who call on Him with His rebuke of those who claim covenant allegiance while rejecting His instruction.
The words — The Hebrew מַה (mah) paired with לְסַפֵּר (lesapper) literally asks "what [is] your reason for recounting," while תִשָּׂא בְרִיתִי (tisa beriti) translates to "you carry my covenant," denoting the physical act of recitation detached from internal reality.
The thread — This theme of lip service without heart alignment recurs in Isaiah 29:13, where God condemns those who honor Him with their lips while their hearts remain distant, and in Psalms 78:36, which notes the people deceived God with their tongues.
Why it lands — The text demands an examination of whether one's recitation of Scripture and covenant promises aligns with actual obedience, requiring the reader to reject performative religion and pursue genuine fidelity.
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
But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?
Cross-references
- Isaiah 29:13 Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.
- Psalms 25:14 The LORD confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them.
- Psalms 78:36 But they deceived Him with their mouths, and lied to Him with their tongues.
- Isaiah 55:6 Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
- Romans 2:17 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God;
- Isaiah 48:1 “Listen to this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, who have descended from the line of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD, who invoke the God of Israel—but not in truth or righteousness—
- Hebrews 8:9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not abide by My covenant, and I disregarded them, declares the Lord.
- Proverbs 26:7 Like lame legs hanging limp is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
- Isaiah 1:11 “What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
- John 4:24 God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”