Mazmur 4:5

4:5 Offer the prescribed sacrifices ¹ 

and trust in the Lord! ² 

Mazmur 50:13-15

50:13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls?

Do I drink the blood of goats? ³ 

50:14 Present to God a thank-offering!

Repay your vows to the sovereign One! ⁴ 

50:15 Pray to me when you are in trouble! ⁵ 

I will deliver you, and you will honor me!” ⁶ 

Mazmur 51:16-17

51:16 Certainly ⁷  you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it; ⁸ 

you do not desire a burnt sacrifice. ⁹ 

51:17 The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit ¹⁰  –

O God, a humble and repentant heart ¹¹  you will not reject. ¹² 

Mazmur 107:22

107:22 Let them present thank offerings,

and loudly proclaim what he has done! ¹³ 

[4:5]  ¹ tn Or “proper, right.” The phrase also occurs in Deut 33:19 and Ps 51:19.

[4:5]  ² sn Trust in the Lord. The psalmist urges his enemies to make peace with God and become his followers.

[50:13]  ³ tn The rhetorical questions assume an emphatic negative response, “Of course not!”

[50:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.

[50:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “call [to] me in a day of trouble.”

[50:15]  ⁶ sn In vv. 7-15 the Lord makes it clear that he was not rebuking Israel because they had failed to offer sacrifices (v. 8a). On the contrary, they had been faithful in doing so (v. 8b). However, their understanding of the essence of their relationship with God was confused. Apparently they believed that he needed/desired such sacrifices and that offering them would ensure their prosperity. But the Lord owns all the animals of the world and did not need Israel’s meager sacrifices (vv. 9-13). Other aspects of the relationship were more important to the Lord. He desired Israel to be thankful for his blessings (v. 14a), to demonstrate gratitude for his intervention by repaying the vows they made to him (v. 14b), and to acknowledge their absolute dependence on him (v. 15a). Rather than viewing their sacrifices as somehow essential to God’s well-being, they needed to understand their dependence on him.

[51:16]  ⁷ tn Or “For.” The translation assumes the particle is asseverative (i.e., emphasizing: “certainly”). (Some translations that consider the particle asseverative leave it untranslated.) If taken as causal or explanatory (“for”, cf. NRSV), the verse would explain why the psalmist is pleading for forgiveness, rather than merely offering a sacrifice.

[51:16]  ⁸ tn The translation assumes that the cohortative is used in a hypothetical manner in a formally unmarked conditional sentence, “You do not want a sacrifice, should I offer [it]” (cf. NEB). For other examples of cohortatives in the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, see GKC 320 §108.e. (It should be noted, however, that GKC understands this particular verse in a different manner. See GKC 320 §108.f, where it is suggested that the cohortative is part of an apodosis with the protasis being suppressed.)

[51:16]  ⁹ sn You do not desire a burnt sacrifice. The terminology used in v. 16 does not refer to expiatory sacrifices, but to dedication and communion offerings. This is not a categorical denial of the sacrificial system in general or of the importance of such offerings. The psalmist is talking about his specific situation. Dedication and communion offerings have their proper place in worship (see v. 19), but God requires something more fundamental, a repentant and humble attitude (see v. 17), before these offerings can have real meaning.

[51:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a broken spirit.”

[51:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a broken and crushed heart.”

[51:17]  ¹² tn Or “despise.”

[107:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “and let them proclaim his works with a ringing cry.”