💾 Archived View for scholasticdiversity.us.to › scriptures › jewish › t › Steinsaltz%20on%20Psalms%2… captured on 2024-07-09 at 03:10:29. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
50 [1] **A psalm by Asaf. The Almighty God, the Lord, has spoken, addressing **all people of **the earth, from the rising of the sun to its setting, **from east to west.** **
[2] **Out of Zion, **the Temple Mount, **the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. **The focal point of God’s revelation is the Temple in Jerusalem.
[3] **Our God arrives and is not silent; **His words will be heard. **Before Him a fire consumes **all,** and surrounding Him it is exceedingly stormy. **Divine** **revelation is accompanied by fire and stormy winds.
[4] **He summons the heavens above, and **He also calls upon **the earth, **in order **to judge His people. **
[5] This is what He says to the earth:** Gather My devoted ones, those who establish a covenant with Me by sacrifice. **
[6] In parallel:* ***The heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge, Selah. **
[7] God now directs His speech to His people in general, and more specifically to those who fear Him:* ***Hear, My people, and I will speak; **hear,** Israel, **and** I will bear witness to you. **Remember that **I am God, your God. **This is an allusion to the first of the Ten Precepts: “I am the Lord your God.”
[8] Although the Torah encourages animal sacrifices and gives extensive instructions concerning them, **I do not rebuke you for **not having offered **your sacrifices **to Me.** Nor are your burnt offerings always before Me. **They are not the focus of My attention.** **I do not need any of your sacrifices for My own sake. This point is clarified further in the following verses.
[9] **I will not take **for Myself **a young bull from your house, or he-goats from your pens. **
[10] I have no need of your animals, **for every beast of the forest is Mine, as are the cattle on thousands of hills. **
[11] **I know every bird of the mountains; so too the large fowl of the field** **are with Me. ***Ziz*, translated here as “large fowl,” is of uncertain meaning, but it appears to refer to a species of giant bird.
[12] Even **if **it were possible to imagine that **I were hungry, I would not tell you **and ask you to fulfill My need,** for the world and all it contains is Mine. **
[13] Of course, the scenario in the preceding verse is an absurdity, expressed ironically, for **do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of he-goats? **To believe that would be ludicrous.
[14] It is clear, then, that God does not need the sacrifices we offer. Rather, they are a means by which we can express our relationship with God. **Offer God a thanksgiving sacrifice, and pay your **sacrificial **vows to the Most High** if you have pledged to bring a sacrifice in His honor.
[15] And if you do fulfill your vows faithfully, you can always **call upon Me in times of trouble, **situations in which people are most inclined to make vows. **I will **accept your vow and **rescue you, and you will **subsequently **honor Me** by fulfilling the sacrificial vow.
[16] All the foregoing relates to ordinary or specifically God-fearing individuals. **But to the wicked one God says: What right have you to speak of My statutes or to invoke My covenant **with Israel?** **Why do you profess to be a member of the holy nation of Israel and a party to their covenant with God?
[17] **For **despite your claims, **you hate reproof, and you cast My words behind you, **following various paths of evil, as described in the following verses.
[18] **When you see a thief, you run **to participate **with him **in his crime;** you join in with adulterers. **
[19] **You let your mouth spew out evil, and **you **affix your tongue to deceit. **
[20] **You sit and speak **even **against your brother **when in the company of others.** You slander your own mother’s son. **
[21] **You have done these **evil **things, and I kept silent, **not immediately responding to them.** Did you think I was like you, that I would **lower Myself to your level and come to **reprove you and set it, **your nefarious behavior,** before your eyes? **
[22] God does not respond to evil in that way. But in the end, He does judge man:** Ponder this well, you who have forgotten God, **who believe that God has overlooked their sins entirely. Realize that the time of punishment will ultimately arrive, and repent, **lest I tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you. **
[23] The concluding verse is addressed to those who heed God’s word: But* ***he who offers a thanksgiving sacrifice, **acting on his desire to show his gratitude to Me,** honors Me. **Such a sacrifice, made out of personal devotion, as opposed to an offering brought by one who thinks he is doing Me a favor, is a means of honoring Me.** And as for he who sets his path, **who consciously chooses to follow the paths of righteousness and propriety, **I will show him the salvation of God.**
Version: The Steinsaltz Tanakh - English
Source: https://korenpub.com/collections/the-steinsaltz-tanakh/products/steinsaltz-tanakh
License: Copyright: Steinsaltz Center