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When you see a thief, you befriend him, and throw in your lot with adulterers.
Psalms 50:18 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB When you saw a thief, you consented with him, and have participated with adulterers.
  • KJV When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.
  • NKJV When you saw a thief, you consented with him, And have been a partaker with adulterers.
  • NASB “When you see a thief, you become friends with him, And you associate with adulterers.
  • NLT When you see thieves, you approve of them, and you spend your time with adulterers.

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

They side with thieves and keep company with adulterers. Their actions betray their false profession.

Overview

God charges these hypocrites with approving thieves and partnering with adulterers—breaking the eighth and seventh commandments. Their conduct reveals where their loyalties truly lie. Profession of God's covenant means nothing when one's deeds embrace the very sins His law forbids.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

  • Rom 1:32Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them.
  • 1 Tim 5:22Do not be too quick in the laying on of hands and thereby share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
  • Heb 13:4Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
  • Matt 23:30And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
  • Mic 7:3Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.
  • Lev 20:10If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death.
  • Prov 2:16–19It will rescue you from the forbidden woman, from the stranger with seductive words
  • Job 31:9–11If my heart has been enticed by my neighbor’s wife, or I have lurked at his door,
  • Jer 5:8–9They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing after his neighbor’s wife.
  • Eph 5:11–13Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
  • Prov 7:19–23For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey.
  • Isa 5:23who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.
  • Prov 1:10–19My son, if sinners entice you, do not yield to them.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

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 50:18YouTube · 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 50:18 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.