Psalms 50:23
in Psalms 50He who sacrifices a thank offering honors Me, and to him who rights his way, I will show the salvation of God.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Whoso offereth the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifieth me; And to him that ordereth his way aright Will I show the salvation of God.
KJV
Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.
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This verse in Psalms 50
Commentary
15 notes on this verseWho among us is of such measure and kind to offer to God "salutary sacrifices" and a "sacrifice of praise"? I believe that one to be a person who praises God in all his actions and fulfills through him what our Lord and Savior says: "That people may see your good works and praise your Father who is in heaven." Therefore, this one offered "a sacrifice of praise" for whose deeds, doctrine, word, habits and discipline, God is praised and blessed.
This site's exposition
Now consider this, you who forget
on Psalms 50:22-23
Now consider this, you who forget God carries the tearing that the fire of verse 3 had already promised. The thank offering is what honors Him. The man who rights his way is shown the salvation of God.
This site's exposition
He who sacrifices a thank offering honors Me
Clarke noted that the Hebrew words for the thank offering here are the very ones of verse 14. The Judge ends where His counsel began. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown saw the offering and the right way joined, a pure worship and a pure life.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Let us … earnestly strive to be found in the number of those that wait for him, in order that we may share in his promised gifts. But how, beloved, shall this be done? If our understanding is fixed by faith toward God; if we earnestly seek the things that are pleasing and acceptable to him; if we do the things that are in harmony with his blameless will; and if we follow the way of truth, casting away from us all unrighteousness and iniquity, along with all covetousness, strife, evil practices, deceit, whispering and evil speaking, all hatred of God, pride and haughtiness, vainglory and ambition. For they that do such things are hateful to God; and not only they that do them, but also those that take pleasure in them that do them.
"Sacrifice of praise shall glorify Me" [Psalm 50:23]. How shall "sacrifice of praise glorify Me"? Assuredly sacrifice of praise does no wise profit evil men, because they take Your Covenant in their mouth, and do damnable things that displease Your eyes. Straightway, he says, even to them this I say, "Sacrifice of praise shall glorify Me." For if you live ill and speakest good words, not yet do you praise: but again, if, when you begin to live well, to your merits thou dost ascribe your living well, not yet do you praise....Therefore the Publican went down justified, rather than that Pharisee. Therefore hear ye that live well, hear ye that live ill: "Sacrifice of praise shall glorify Me." No one offers Me this sacrifice, and is evil. I say not, Let there not offer Me this any one that is evil; but no one does offer Me this, that is evil. For he that praises, is good: because if he praises, he does also live well, because if he praises, not only with tongue he praises, but life also with tongue does agree.
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 10 · Written before 1153.
proposed
For this ointment is made from the gifts of God bestowed on the human race. Happy the man who makes it his business to gather these carefully for himself and keep them in mind with due thanksgiving. When they shall have been pounded and refined …
"The sacrifice of praise shall honor me." Here he concludes what is acceptable to God in sacrifices. And he shows a twofold fruit in them. One fruit is on the part of God, that his excellence may be manifested; and this is done through the …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
(3.) Those that take care of their conversation make sure their salvation; them God will make to see his salvation, for it is a salvation ready to be revealed; he will make them to see it and enjoy it, to see it, and to see themselves happy for ever in it. Note, The right ordering of the conversation is the only way, and it is a sure way, to obtain the great salvation.
7 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
4 He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. 5 Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. 6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Whoso offereth praise,...., Which is exhorted to; See Gill on Psa 50:14; glorifieth me; celebrates the divine perfections, gives God the glory of all mercies; which honours him, and is more grateful and well pleasing to him than all burnt offerings and sacrifices; and to him that ordereth his conversation aright; according to the rule of God's word, and as becomes the Gospel of Christ; who walks inoffensively to all, circumspectly and wisely in the world, and in love to the saints; in wisdom towards them that are without, and in peace with them that are within; who is a follower of God, of Christ, and of his people; and who lives so as to glorify God, and cause others to glorify him likewise: or that chooses for himself the right way, as Aben Ezra, the right way to eternal life; and the sense is, he that puts or sets his heart upon it, and is in pursuit after the evangelical way of life. To him will I show the salvation of God; or, "cause to see" or "enjoy it" (b); not only temporal salvation from time to time, but spiritual and eternal salvation; to see interest in it, and to possess it; and particularly Christ, the author of it, who is the salvation of God's providing, appointing, and sending, and whose glory is greatly concerned therein; see Isa 52:10. (b) אדאנו "videre faciam eum", Montanus; "faciam ut is fruatur", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me. Praise is the best sacrifice; true, hearty, gracious thanksgiving from a renewed mind. Not the lowing of bullocks bound to the altar, but the songs of redeemed men are the music which the ear of Jehovah delights in. Sacrifice your loving gratitude, and God is honoured thereby. And to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God. Holy living is a choice evidence of salvation.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
offereth praise-- (Ps 50:14), so that the external worship is a true index of the heart. ordereth . . . aright--acts in a straight, right manner, opposed to turning aside (Ps 25:5). In such, pure worship and a pure life evince their true piety, and they will enjoy God's presence and favor. -- JFB19B.HTM --
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me. Praise is the best sacrifice; true, hearty, gracious thanksgiving from a renewed mind. Not the lowing of bullocks bound to the altar, but the songs of redeemed men are the music which the ear of Jehovah delights in. Sacrifice your loving gratitude, and God is honoured thereby. And to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God. Holy living is a choice evidence of salvation. He who submits his whole way to divine guidance, and is careful to honour God in his life, brings an offering which the Lord accepts through his dear Son; and such a one shall be more and more instructed, and made experimentally to know the Lord's salvation. He needs salvation, for the best ordering of the life cannot save us, but that salvation he shall have. Not to ceremonies, not to unpurified lips, is the blessing promised, but to grateful hearts and holy lives. O Lord, give us to stand in the judgment with those who have worshipped thee aright and have seen thy salvation.
Whoso offereth praise - These are the very same words as those in Psa 50:14, זבח תודה; and should be read the same way independently of the points, zebach todah, “sacrifice the thank-offering.” Jesus is the great eucharistic sacrifice; offer him up to God in your faith and prayers. By this sacrifice is God glorified, for in him is God well pleased; and it was by the grace or good pleasure of God that he tasted death for every man. Ordereth his conversation - שם דרך sam derech, Disposeth his way. - Margin. Has his way There, שם דרך sham derech, as many MSS. and old editions have it; or makes that his custom. Will I show the salvation of God - אראנו arennu, I will cause him to see בישע beyesha, into the salvation of God; into God’s method of saving sinners by Christ. He shall witness my saving power even to the uttermost; such a salvation as it became a God to bestow, and as a fallen soul needs to receive; the salvation from all sin, which Christ has purchased by his death. I sall scheu til him, the hele of God; that es Jeshu, that he se him in the fairehed of his majeste - Old Psalter.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me - That is, he truly honors me; he is a true worshipper; he meets with my approbation. The word here rendered ““offereth”” is the same which is used in Psa 50:14, and means “he that sacrifices:” here meaning, he that presents the sacrifice of praise. So the Septuagint: “the sacrifice of praise glorifies me.” So the Vulgate. The idea is, that the worship which God requires is “praise;” it is not the mere external act of homage; it is not the presentation of a bloody sacrifice; it is not the mere bending of the knee; it is not a mere outward form: it is that which proceeds from the heart, and which shows that there is there a spirit of true thankfulness, adoration, and love. And to him that ordereth his conversation aright - Margin, as in Hebrew, “that disposeth his way.” Or, more literally, “To him that “prepares” or “plans” his way;” that is, to him who is attentive to his going; who seeks to walk in the right path; who is anxious to go in the road that leads to a happier world; who is careful that all his conduct shall be in accordance with the rules which God has prescribed. Will I show the salvation of God - This may mean either, “I, the author of the psalm as a teacher” (compare Psa 32:8); or, “I” as referring to God - as a promise that “He” would instruct such an one. The latter is the probable meaning, as it is God that has been speaking in the previous verse. The “salvation of God” is the salvation of which God is the author; or, which he alone can give. The “idea” here is, that where there is a true desire to find the way of truth and salvation, God will impart needful instruction. He will not suffer such an one to wander away and be lost. […]
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זֹבֵ֥חַ | zoveach | [one who] sacrifices | H2076 → | 134 times |
| תּוֹדָ֗ה | todah | a thank-offering | H8426 → | 31 times |
| יְֽכַ֫בְּדָ֥נְנִי | yekhabedaneni | he honors me | H3513 → | 113 times |
| וְשָׂ֥ם | vesam | and [one who] sets | H7760 → | 584 times |
| דֶּ֑רֶךְ | derekh | a way | H1870 → | 707 times |
| אַ֝רְאֶ֗נּוּ | ʾarenu | I will let look him | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| בְּיֵ֣שַׁע | beyesha' | on [the] salvation of | H3468 → | 36 times |
| אֱלֹהִֽים׃ | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
זֹבֵ֥חַ[one who] sacrifices
zoveachH2076 →134 times
תּוֹדָ֗הa thank-offering
todahH8426 →31 times
יְֽכַ֫בְּדָ֥נְנִיhe honors me
yekhabedaneniH3513 →113 times
וְשָׂ֥םand [one who] sets
vesamH7760 →584 times
דֶּ֑רֶךְa way
derekhH1870 →707 times
אַ֝רְאֶ֗נּוּI will let look him
ʾarenuH7200 →1300 times
בְּיֵ֣שַׁעon [the] salvation of
beyesha'H3468 →36 times
אֱלֹהִֽים׃God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 12:1Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:5
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
- Romans 6:13
Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of…
- Hebrews 13:15–16
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name.
- Romans 6:19
I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to escalating wickedness, so now…
- Ephesians 4:1
As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received:
- 1 Peter 2:5
Through
James 3:13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
it leads to
- Galatians 5:23
gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
- James 3:17
But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.
- Matthew 5:5
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
- Galatians 5:23
Where this verse is studied
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About Psalms

This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 50; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 10; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Clement of Rome, 1 CLEMENT 35; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON LEVITICUS 5:7.2 and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.
