Bible Strands
Psalms 50:7
“Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God addresses Israel directly as His covenant people and legal adversary. He issues this declaration immediately after the heavens proclaim His righteousness and before He clarifies that He does not rebuke them for their sacrificial practices.
The words — The Hebrew שְׁמַע (shem‘a) commands "hear" or "listen," while אֲעִידָה (a‘îdâh) means "I will testify" or "warn." These terms establish the passage as a formal divine summons rather than a general sermon.
The thread — This opening formula matches Exodus 19:5 and Exodus 20:2, where God grounds His authority in His role as Israel's deliverer. It also repeats the exact call structure found in Psalm 81:8.
Why it lands — The text demands immediate attention to a legal declaration before any specific charges are listed. It requires the reader to recognize God's standing as judge and covenant holder before evaluating the subsequent indictment.
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
Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.
Cross-references
- Psalms 81:8 Hear, O My people, and I will warn you: O Israel, if only you would listen to Me!
- Exodus 20:2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- Exodus 19:5 Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
- Jeremiah 2:9 Therefore, I will contend with you again, declares the LORD, and I will bring a case against your children’s children.
- Psalms 49:1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all inhabitants of the world,
- Psalms 81:10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth, and I will fill it.
- Jeremiah 2:4 Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all you families of the house of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 26:17 Today you have proclaimed that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes and commandments and ordinances, and listen to His voice.
- Deuteronomy 31:19 Now therefore, write down for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites; have them recite it, so that it may be a witness for Me against them.
- 1 Samuel 12:22 Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own.