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For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
Psalms 50:10 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB For every animal of the forest is mine, and the livestock on a thousand hills.
  • BSB for every beast of the forest is Mine—the cattle on a thousand hills.
  • NKJV For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills.
  • NASB “For every animal of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills.
  • NLT For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills.

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

Every animal of the forest and the cattle on a thousand hills already belong to God. He owns all that the worshiper might offer.

Overview

God reminds Israel that all creation is His, so their gifts add nothing to Him. The phrase 'cattle on a thousand hills' has become a classic declaration of God's total ownership of all things. Genuine worship, then, springs from gratitude and dependence, not from supplying God a need.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

  • Jer 27:5–6I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.
  • Ps 8:6–8Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
  • Ps 104:14He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;
  • Dan 2:38And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
  • Ps 104:24–25O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
  • 1 Chr 29:14–16But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.
  • Gen 2:19And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
  • Jonah 4:11And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
  • Gen 1:24–25And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
  • Gen 9:2–3And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
  • Gen 8:17Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
  • Gen 31:9Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.
  • Job 40:15–24Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 50:10YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 50:10 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.