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Psalm 16:4
Their sorrows shall be multiplied who give gifts to another god. Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take their names on my lips.
2My soul, you have said to the LORD, “You are my Lord. Apart from you I have no good thing.”
3As for the saints who are on the earth, they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.
4Their sorrows shall be multiplied who give gifts to another god. Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take their names on my lips.
5The LORD assigned my portion and my cup. You made my lot secure.
6The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Yes, I have a good inheritance.
Notice
Drink offerings of blood make allegiance concrete: the speaker refuses both the rites of other gods and the use of their names in worship.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What stands out to you about refusing both offerings and the names spoken on the lips?
Write on thisHow does YHWH as your portion shape your response to the warning about other gods?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Exodus 23:13“Be careful to do all things that I have said to you; and don’t invoke the name of other gods or even let them be heard out of your mouth.Both passages connect allegiance to God with refusing to invoke the names of other gods.
Joshua 23:7that you not come among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve …Joshua forbids naming and serving other gods, matching the psalm’s refusal to honor them through speech or offerings.
Psalm 32:10Many sorrows come to the wicked, but loving kindness shall surround him who trusts in the LORD.Both passages speak of many sorrows, Psalm 16 for those giving gifts to another god and Psalm 32 for the wicked.
Psalm 97:7Let all them be shamed who serve engraved images, who boast in their idols. Worship him, all you gods!Both passages warn of harm attached to idol worship: multiplied sorrows in Psalm 16 and shame in Psalm 97.
Jonah 2:8Those who regard vain idols forsake their own mercy.Both texts describe loss associated with devotion to idols: multiplied sorrows in the psalm and forsaken mercy in Jonah.
Isaiah 57:6Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion. They, they are your lot. You have even poured a drink offering to them. You have offered an offering. …Both passages name drink offerings directed toward objects of false worship, which the psalm’s speaker refuses to offer.
Psalm 106:37–38Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.The psalm refuses blood offerings to other gods; Psalm 106 names the sacrifice of sons and daughters to demons.
Hosea 2:17For I will take away the names of the Baals out of her mouth, and they will no longer be mentioned by name.Both passages describe the exclusion of false gods’ names from the mouth.
Hosea 2:16–17It will be in that day,” says the LORD, “that you will call me ‘my husband,’ and no longer call me ‘my master.’Both concern speech in worship: the psalm refuses other gods’ names, while Hosea describes how God’s people will address the LORD.
Genesis 35:14Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he spoke with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it, and poured oil on it.Both mention a drink offering; the psalm rejects offerings to other gods, while Genesis describes Jacob pouring one on a pillar.
Isaiah 66:3He who kills an ox is as he who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, as he who breaks a dog’s neck; he who offers an offering, as he who offers pig’s blood; …Both passages associate offerings with false worship, including references to blood and the honoring of idols.
Jeremiah 7:18The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink …Jeremiah describes drink offerings to other gods that provoke the LORD; the psalm’s speaker refuses participation in such worship.
Where this verse fits
Temptation. praise and worship. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The warning about multiplied sorrows is severe. In a psalm that names YHWH as its good and portion, refusing other gods belongs to trusting him.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 16:4. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).