The Meaning of Psalms 50:10 Explained

Psalms 50:10

KJV: For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.

YLT: For Mine is every beast of the forest, The cattle on the hills of oxen.

Darby: For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle upon a thousand hills;

ASV: For every beast of the forest is mine, And the cattle upon a thousand hills.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For every beast  of the forest  [is] mine, [and] the cattle  upon a thousand  hills. 

What does Psalms 50:10 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalm 50:1-15 - Sacrifices Which God Desires
This is one of the most majestic compositions of this book. For literary power it cannot be excelled. The psalmist hears God calling the whole world from east to west. His presence is compared to the dawn and to a tropical storm. When He is seated on His throne, the heavens and the earth bear witness while He judges His people. Then up the crowded aisles His saints advance and stand before Him.
There is no need to enlarge upon the spiritual insight of the psalmist, who realizes that God cannot be enriched by anything that we can bring; but insists on the sacrifice of thanksgiving, vows of consecration, and the loud call for help in the day of trouble. These are characteristic of those whose God is the Lord, and of the people whom He has taken for His own inheritance. Let us specially ponder these three conditions of the happy life, Psalms 50:14-15. What comfort is contained in the blessed promise of Psalms 50:15! It is so absolute in its certainty and assurance. God has here bound Himself to deliver the soul that calls on Him in its trouble and give it reason to glorify Him. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalm 50

1  The majesty of God in the church
5  His order to gather his saints
7  The pleasure of God is not in ceremonies
14  but in sincerity of obedience

What do the individual words in Psalms 50:10 mean?

For [is] Mine every beast of the forest [And] the cattle on hills a thousand
כִּי־ לִ֥י כָל־ חַיְתוֹ־ יָ֑עַר בְּ֝הֵמ֗וֹת בְּהַרְרֵי־ אָֽלֶף

לִ֥י  [is]  Mine 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
כָל־  every 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
חַיְתוֹ־  beast 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
יָ֑עַר  of  the  forest 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַעַר 
Sense: forest, wood, thicket, wooded height.
בְּ֝הֵמ֗וֹת  [And]  the  cattle 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: בְּהֵמָה  
Sense: beast, cattle, animal.
בְּהַרְרֵי־  on  hills 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: הַר  
Sense: mountain, hill, hill country, mount.
אָֽלֶף  a  thousand 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: אֶלֶף 
Sense: a thousand.