When you saw a thief, you consented with him, And have been a partaker with adulterers.
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.
- BSB When you see a thief, you befriend him, and throw in your lot 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 1:32who, knowing the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.
- 1 Tim 5:22Lay hands hastily on no one, neither be a participant in other men’s sins. Keep yourself pure.
- Heb 13:4Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled: but God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
- Matt 23:30and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we wouldn’t have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’
- Mic 7:3Their hands are on that which is evil to do it diligently. The ruler and judge ask for a bribe; and the powerful man dictates the evil desire of his soul. Thus they conspire together.
- Lev 20:10“‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, even he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
- Prov 2:16–19To deliver you from the strange woman, even from the foreigner who flatters with her words;
- Job 31:9–11“If my heart has been enticed to a woman, and I have laid wait at my neighbor’s door,
- Jer 5:8–9They were as fed horses roaming at large: everyone neighed after his neighbor’s wife.
- Eph 5:11–13Have no fellowship with the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather even reprove them.
- Prov 7:19–23For my husband isn’t at home. He has gone on a long journey.
- Isa 5:23who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice for the innocent!
- Prov 1:10–19My son, if sinners entice you, don’t consent.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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.