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.
Parallel translations
- WEB Their sorrows shall be multiplied who give gifts to another god. Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take their names on my lips.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god; Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, Nor take up their names on my lips.
- NASB The pains of those who have acquired another god will be multiplied; I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood, Nor will I take their names upon my lips.
- NLT Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods. I will not take part in their sacrifices of blood or even speak the names of their gods.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Those who chase after other gods multiply their own sorrows, and David refuses any part in idolatry. It matters because idolatry brings grief while faithfulness to the true God brings life.
Overview
David warns that pursuing false gods only multiplies sorrow, and he renounces their bloody drink offerings and will not even speak their names. His exclusive devotion to Yahweh stands against all idolatry. The verse calls believers to the same wholehearted loyalty that Christ commands, refusing to share the worship owed to God alone.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Exod 23:13Pay 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.
- Josh 23:7So 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.
- Ps 97:7All worshipers of images are put to shame—those who boast in idols. Worship Him, all you gods!
- Ps 32:10Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but loving devotion surrounds him who trusts in the LORD.
- Jonah 2:8Those who cling to worthless idols forsake His loving devotion.
- Isa 57:6Your 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?
- Ps 106:37–38They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
- Isa 66:3Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s blood; whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol. Indeed, they have chosen their own ways and delighted in their abominations.
- Rev 18:4–5Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.
- Hos 2:16–17In that day,” declares the LORD, “you will call Me ‘my Husband,’ and no longer call Me ‘my Master.’
- Lev 23:13along with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil—an offering made by fire to the LORD, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering of a quarter hin of wine.
- Isa 65:11But you who forsake the LORD, who forget My holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,
- Jer 7:18The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven; they pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me to anger.
- Gen 35:14So 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.
- Rev 14:9–11And a third angel followed them, calling out in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives its mark on his forehead or on his hand,
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 16:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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