For every animal of the forest is mine, and the livestock on a thousand hills.
I know all the birds of the mountains. The wild animals of the field are mine.
If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
Parallel Translations
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For every animal of the forest is mine, and the livestock on a thousand hills.
I know all the birds of the mountains. The wild animals of the field are mine.
If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
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For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.
If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
Show all 3 translations
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For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
I know all the fowls of the mountains; and the wild beasts of the field are Mine.
If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; for the world is Mine, and the fulness thereof.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Science (1)
Historical claims about the natural world, weighed against the scientific record.
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (34)
- Exodus 19:5 (v12) Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples; for all…
- Deuteronomy 10:14 (v12) Behold, to Yahweh your God belongs heaven, the heaven of heavens, and the earth, with all that is therein.
- Psalms 24:1-2 (v12) The earth is Yahweh’s, with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell in it. For he has founded it on the seas, and established it on…
- 1 Corinthians 10:26-28 (v12) for “the earth is the Lord’s, and its fullness.” But if one of those who don’t believe invites you to a meal, and you are inclined to go,…
- Job 41:11 (v12) Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Everything under the heavens is mine.
Show all 33 cross-references
- Jeremiah 27:5-6 (v10) ‘I have made the earth, the men, and the animals that are on the surface of the earth by my great power and by my outstretched arm. I give…
- Psalms 115:15-16 (v12) Blessed are you by Yahweh, who made heaven and earth. The heavens are Yahweh’s heavens, but he has given the earth to the children of men.
- Psalms 8:6-8 (v10) You make him ruler over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet: All sheep and cattle, yes, and the animals of the…
- Psalms 104:14 (v10) He causes the grass to grow for the livestock, and plants for man to cultivate, that he may produce food out of the earth:
- Matthew 6:26 (v11) See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of…
- Genesis 1:20-22 (v11) God said, “Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.” God created the…
- Psalms 104:24-25 (v10) Yahweh, how many are your works! In wisdom, you have made them all. The earth is full of your riches. There is the sea, great and wide, in…
- Daniel 2:38 (v10) Wherever the children of men dwell, he has given the animals of the field and the birds of the sky into your hand, and has made you rule…
- Genesis 8:17 (vv10, 12) Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh, including birds, livestock, and every creeping thing that creeps on…
- Genesis 1:24-25 (v10) God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind;”…
- Genesis 1:28-30 (v12) God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the…
- Genesis 2:19 (v10) Out of the ground Yahweh God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would…
- 1 Chronicles 29:14-16 (v10) But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from you, and we have given…
- Job 39:26-30 (v11) “Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, and stretches her wings toward the south? Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up, and…
- Psalms 145:15-16 (v12) The eyes of all wait for you. You give them their food in due season. You open your hand, and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
- Jonah 4:11 (v10) Shouldn’t I be concerned for Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred twenty thousand persons who can’t discern between…
- Luke 12:24 (v11) Consider the ravens: they don’t sow, they don’t reap, they have no warehouse or barn, and God feeds them. How much more valuable are you…
- Genesis 1:11-12 (v12) God said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the…
- Genesis 9:2-3 (v10) The fear of you and the dread of you will be on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the sky. Everything that moves along the…
- Genesis 31:9 (v10) Thus God has taken away your father’s livestock, and given them to me.
- Job 39:13-18 (v11) “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly; but are they the feathers and plumage of love? For she leaves her eggs on the earth, warms them in…
- Job 40:15-24 (v10) “See now, behemoth, which I made as well as you. He eats grass as an ox. Look now, his strength is in his thighs. His force is in the…
- Psalms 104:12 (v11) The birds of the sky nest by them. They sing among the branches.
- Psalms 104:24 (v12) Yahweh, how many are your works! In wisdom, you have made them all. The earth is full of your riches.
- Psalms 147:9 (v11) He provides food for the livestock, and for the young ravens when they call.
- Isaiah 56:9 (v11) All you animals of the field, come to devour, all you animals in the forest.
- Ezekiel 14:15-16 (v11) “If I cause evil animals to pass through the land, and they ravage it, and it is made desolate, so that no man may pass through because of…
- Matthew 10:29-31 (v11) “Aren’t two sparrows sold for an assarion coin? Not one of them falls on the ground apart from your Father’s will, but the very hairs of…
33 distinct cross-references across this passage (34 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (14 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v10 Though he did delight in sacrifice, yet had he…
Though he did delight in sacrifice, yet had he no need of man’s help thereunto.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv10–12 Psa 50:10 For every beast of the forest [is]…
Psa 50:10 For every beast of the forest [is] mine, [and] the cattle upon a thousand hills.
Ver. 10. For every beast of the forest is mine] God is the great proprietary; and all is his by primitive right. It is but of his own, therefore, that any man giveth him aught; as David freely acknowledgeth, 1Ch 29:14; and that great emperor, who, dedicating his rich communion table to Jesus Christ, wrote upon it τα σο εκ των σων σοι προσφερομεν, Thine own, and of thine own, Lord, present we unto thee (Justinian apud Cedren.). And yet vain man is apt to conceit that God is obliged unto him when he offereth unto God any part of his goods.
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And the cattle upon a thousand hills] Or, upon the hills of a thousand owners.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv10–12 I would command or dispose them at my pleasure,…
I would command or dispose them at my pleasure, without thy leave or assistance, even the cattle which feed upon innumerable hills, or in valleys and fields.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv10–12 For every beast of the forest is mine,.... By…
For every beast of the forest is mine,.... By creation and preservation; and therefore he stood in no need of their bullocks and he goats;
and the cattle upon a thousand hills; meaning all the cattle in the whole world.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v11 The fowls - Such as are wild and fly…
The fowls - Such as are wild and fly up and down upon mountains.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv10, 12 Verse 10. Every beast of the forest is mine]…
Verse 10. Every beast of the forest is mine] Can ye suppose that ye are laying me under obligation to you, when ye present me with a part of my own property?
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv10–12 For every beast of the forest is mine -…
For every beast of the forest is mine - All the beasts that roam at large in the wilderness; all that are untamed and unclaimed by man. The idea is, that even if God “needed” such offerings, he was not dependent on them - for the numberless beasts that roamed at large as his own would yield an ample supply.
And the cattle upon a thousand hills - This may mean either the cattle that roamed by thousands on the hills, or the cattle on numberless hills. The Hebrew will bear either construction. The former is most likely to be the meaning. The allusion is probably to the animals that were pastured in great numbers on the hills, and that were claimed by men. The idea is, that all - whether wild or tame - belonged to God, and he had a right to them, to dispose of them as he pleased. He was not, therefore, in any way dependent on sacrifices. It is a beautiful and impressive thought, that the “property” in all these animals - in all living things on the earth - is in God, and that he has a right to dispose of them as he pleases. What man owns, he owns under God, and has no right to complain when God comes and asserts his superior claim to dispose of it at his pleasure. God has never given to man the absolute proprietorship in “any” thing; nor does he invade our rights when he comes and claims what we possess, or when in any way he removes what is most valuable to us. Compare Job 1:21.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv11–12 11. The wild beasts of the field] A peculiar…
11. The wild beasts of the field] A peculiar phrase, found only in another Asaphite Psalm (Psa_80:13), meaning probably all that moveth in the field, including the ‘creeping thing’ (Gen_1:24 f).
are mine] Lit., are with me, i.e. are in my sight (P.B.V.), or, in my mind (R.V. marg.).
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12f. If God had need of sustenance, He would not be dependent upon man for it: but a spiritual Being needs no material support.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv10–11 (10) A thousand hills.—Literally, mountains of a thousand, an…
(10) A thousand hills.—Literally, mountains of a thousand, an expression for which there is no analogy, but which might conceivably mean, “mountains where the cattle are by thousands;” but surely the LXX. and Vulg. are right here, in rendering “oxen” instead of “a thousand,” and we should read “hills of oxen.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv10–12 For every beast of the forest is mine, and…
For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. So the Revised Version, Dr. Kay, Canon Cook, the Four Friends, and others; but many critics regard such a rendering as impossible. Of these, some translate, "And the cattle upon the hills, where there are thousands" (Hupfeld, Hengstenberg, etc.); while others read for pla, and render, "And the cattle upon the mountains of God" (Olshausen, Cheyne).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain On vv10–12 Ver. 10. For every beast of the forest is…
Ver. 10. For every beast of the forest is mine. How could they imagine that the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth, had need of beasts, when all the countless hordes that find shelter in a thousand forests and wildernesses belong to him? And the cattle upon a thousand hills. Not alone the wild beasts, but also the tamer creatures are all his own. Even if God cared for these things, he could supply himself. Their cattle were not, after all, their own, but were still the great Creator's property, why then should he be beholden to them. From Dan to Beersheba, from Nebaioth to Lebanon, there fed not a beast which was not marked with the name of the great Shepherd; why, then, should he crave oblations of Israel? What a slight is here put even upon sacrifices of divine appointment when wrongly viewed as in themselves pleasing to God! And all this to be so expressly stated under the law! How much more is this clear under the gospel, when it is so much more plainly revealed, that "God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth"? Ye Ritualists, ye Sacramentarians, ye modern Pharisees, what say ye to this?
Ver. 10. "For to me (belongs) every beast of the forest, the cattle in hills of a thousand." This last idiomatic phrase may either mean a thousand hills, or hills where the cattle rove by thousands, with probable allusion to the hilly grounds of Bashan beyond Jordan. According to etymology, the noun in the first clause means an animal, and that in the second beasts or brutes in general. But when placed in antithesis, the first denotes a wild beast, and the second domesticated animals or cattle. Both words were necessary to express God's sovereign propriety in the whole animal creation. Thus understood, the verse assigns a reason for the negative assertion in the one before it. Even if God could stand in need of animal oblations, for his own sake, or for their sake, he would not be under the necessity of coming to man for them, since the whole animal creation is his property and perfectly at his disposal. J. A. Alexander.
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee:…
Psa_50:12
If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is Mine, and the fulness thereof.
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The owner of the world
I. There must be a growing knowledge of God amongst men. Men once thought that God could be hungry, and that offerings of wheat, goats, etc., would appease His appetite: but when this psalm was written they had advanced far beyond this in their knowledge of God. And we now have no such idea. Science, learning, and the study of the life of Jesus, have classified and enlarged our ideas of God and Gods workings. Then we ought not to be afraid to say, The teachings of our fathers, the associations of the old theology of creeds must be modified. We must not allow our spiritual life to be controlled by leading strings held in dead hands. We must be ready to stand in the light of the revealed character of God, and accept our impulses and conclusions from that.
II. A statement of the rights of God over the world promotes that knowledge, How many of those who read inscribed on the portico of the Royal Exchange, The earth is the Lords and the fulness thereof, ever ponder the large meaning of these words. All natural things are His. How we prize that which is ours--from our first childrens toys to our possessions now that we are come to mature age. And because this feeling of ownership is in us we know that it is in God. And not only the things, but the energies in them, are His. And all things that men produce, for they come out of the fulness of Gods world. What, then, can He wish for from us but that we come to know Him and to love and honour Him as we should? Therefore remember--
(1) All property is held from God. We are but His stewards.
(2) Everything in the world is a witness to God.
(3) God is the sustainer of all things. (D. O. Watt, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v12 If I were hungry
If I were hungry
This describes something that could not happen, since God does not get hungry. (See: Hypothetical Situations)
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Will I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?
God asks this rhetorical question to emphasize that he does not do these things and so has no need for their sacrifices. AT: "I do not eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats." (See: Rhetorical Question)
translationWords
world
flesh
cow
blood
goat
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v10 50:10 I own the cattle on a thousand hills:…
50:10 I own the cattle on a thousand hills: God has no needs; he possesses everything.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.