The Meaning of Psalms 50:14 Explained

Psalms 50:14

KJV: Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:

YLT: Sacrifice to God confession, And complete to the Most High thy vows.

Darby: Offer unto God thanksgiving, and perform thy vows unto the Most High;

ASV: Offer unto God the sacrifice of thanksgiving; And pay thy vows unto the Most High:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Offer  unto God  thanksgiving;  and pay  thy vows  unto the most High: 

What does Psalms 50:14 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 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: Psalms 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 50:14 mean?

Offer to God thanksgiving and pay to the Most High your vows
זְבַ֣ח לֵאלֹהִ֣ים תּוֹדָ֑ה וְשַׁלֵּ֖ם לְעֶלְי֣וֹן נְדָרֶֽיךָ

זְבַ֣ח  Offer 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: זָבַח  
Sense: to slaughter, kill, sacrifice, slaughter for sacrifice.
לֵאלֹהִ֣ים  to  God 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
תּוֹדָ֑ה  thanksgiving 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: תֹּודָה  
Sense: confession, praise, thanksgiving.
וְשַׁלֵּ֖ם  and  pay 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: שָׁלֵם  
Sense: .
לְעֶלְי֣וֹן  to  the  Most  High 
Parse: Preposition-l, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: עֶלְיׄון 
Sense: high, upper.
נְדָרֶֽיךָ  your  vows 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: נֵדֶר  
Sense: vow, votive offering.