I know all the birds of the mountains. The wild animals of the field are mine.
Parallel Translations
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I know all the birds of the mountains. The wild animals of the field are mine.
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I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.
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I know all the fowls of the mountains; and the wild beasts of the field are Mine.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Science (1)
Historical claims about the natural world, weighed against the scientific record.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to Psalms 50:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Matthew 6:26 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 much more value than they?
- Genesis 1:20-22 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 large sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
- Job 39:26-30 “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 makes his nest on high? On the cliff he dwells, and makes his home, on the point of the cliff, and the stronghold. From there he spies out the prey. His eyes see it afar off. His young ones also suck up blood. Where the slain are, there he is.”
- Luke 12:24 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 than birds!
- Job 39:13-18 “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 the dust, and forgets that the foot may crush them, or that the wild animal may trample them. She deals harshly with her young ones, as if they were not hers. Though her labor is in vain, she is without fear, because God has deprived her of wisdom, neither has he imparted to her understanding. When she lifts up herself on high, she scorns the horse and his rider.
- Psalms 104:12 The birds of the sky nest by them. They sing among the branches.
- Psalms 147:9 He provides food for the livestock, and for the young ravens when they call.
- Isaiah 56:9 All you animals of the field, come to devour, all you animals in the forest.
- Ezekiel 14:15-16 “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 the animals; though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord Yahweh, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters. They only would be delivered, but the land would be desolate.
- Matthew 10:29-31 “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 your head are all numbered. Therefore don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 50:11 I know all the fowls of the…
Psa 50:11 I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field [are] mine.
Ver. 11. I know all the fowls of the mountains] i.e. In numerato habeo, saith Vatablus, they are always before me ready at my service.
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And the wild beasts of the field] R. Solomon interpreteth it reptiles, the creeping things of the field; others, copiam volucrum in vallibus, the abundance of birds that are up and down the fields and valleys.
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 I know where they are, and whence I can…
I know where they are, and whence I can easily fetch them when I think good.
The fowls of the mountains; not only tame and domestic fowls, but even such as are wild and fly up and down upon mountains; which though out of man’s reach, are at God’s command.
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 I know all the fowls of the mountains,.... God…
I know all the fowls of the mountains,.... God not only knows them, but takes care of them; not a sparrow fails to the ground without his knowledge, and all the fowls of the air are fed by him, Mat 10:29; and therefore needed not their turtledoves and young pigeons, which were the only fowls used in sacrifice;
and the wild beasts of the field are mine; which are mentioned in opposition to domestic ones, such as they had in their houses or folds, Psa 50:9.
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 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.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain I know all the fowls of the mountains -…
I know all the fowls of the mountains - That is, I am fully acquainted with their numbers; their nature; their habits; their residence. I have such a knowledge of them that I could appropriate them to my own use if I were in need of them. I am not, therefore, dependent on people to offer them, for I can use them as I please.
And the wild beasts of the field are mine - Margin, “with me.” That is, they are before me. They are never out of my presence. At any time, therefore, I could use them as I might need them. The word rendered “wild beasts” - זיז zı̂yz - means any moving thing; and the idea here is, whatever moves in the field, or roams abroad. Everything is his - whether on the mountains, in the forest, or in the cultivated field.
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 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 (11) Wild beasts.—Literally, that which moveth. (Comp. Psa_80:13.)
(11) Wild beasts.—Literally, that which moveth. (Comp. Psa_80:13.)
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 I know all the fowls of the mountains, and…
I know all the fowls of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are mine; literally, are with me. All creation is God"s, known to him, and owned by him, to be dealt with at his pleasure. How, then, should he need gifts from men?
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 Ver. 11. I know all the fowls of the…
Ver. 11. I know all the fowls of the mountain. All the winged creatures are under my inspection and near my hand; what then can be the value of your pairs of turtledoves, and your two young pigeons? The great Lord not only feeds all his creatures, but is well acquainted with each one; how wondrous is this knowledge! And the wild beasts of the fields are mine. The whole population moving over the plain belongs to me; why then should I seek you beeves and rams? In me all things live and move; how mad are you to suppose that I desire your living things! A spiritual God demands other life than that which is seen in animals; he looks for spiritual sacrifice; for the love, the trust, the praise, the life of your hearts.
Ver. 11-12. We show our scorn of God's sufficiency, by secret thoughts of meriting from him by any religious act, as though God could be indebted to us, and obliged by us. As though our devotions could bring a blessedness to God more than he essentially hath; when indeed "our goodness extends not to him." Ps 16:2. Our services to God are rather services to ourselves, and bring a happiness to us, not to God. This secret opinion of merit (though disputed among the Papists, yet) is natural to man; and this secret self pleasing, when we have performed any duty, and upon that account expect some fair compensation from God, as having been profitable to him; God intimates this: "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." He implies, that they wronged his infinite fulness, by thinking that he stood in need of their sacrifices and services, and that he was beholden to them for their adoration of him. All merit implies a moral or natural insufficiency in the person of whom we merit, and our doing something for him, which he could not, or at least so well do for himself. It is implied in our murmuring at God's dealing with us as a course of cross providences, wherein men think they have deserved better at the hands of God by their service, than to be cast aside and degraded by him. In our prosperity we are apt to have secret thoughts that our enjoyments were the debts God owes us, rather than gifts freely bestowed upon us. Hence it is that men are more unwilling to part with their righteousness than with their sins, and are apt to challenge salvation as a due, rather than beg it as an act of grace. Stephen Charnock.
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Ver. 11-12. See Psalms on "Ps 50:11" for further information.
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.