Psalms 50:18
If you see a thief, you are pleased with him, and you keep company with adulterers.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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What's easily missed is that "consentedst with him" isn't just passive agreement, but an active delight and desire to associate with wrongdoing. This wasn't just seeing a thief and letting it slide; it was actively joining in, sharing in the spoils, and making common cause with those who lived by dishonest and impure practices.
God is calling out those who outwardly profess to worship Him but live corrupt lives, highlighting their complicity with wrongdoing. This verse directly follows God's pronouncements against those who falsely claim to uphold His law while living in sin, showing that their secret approval and participation in theft and adultery are just as offensive as their hypocrisy. The passage continues by detailing further sins like malicious gossip and slander.
What does it mean to 'consent' to a thief's actions, or share 'portion' with adulterers? This verse reveals a deep alignment with sin.
The Psalm isn't just talking about passively witnessing sin, but actively finding pleasure and partnership in it.
A Willing Alliance
This isn't about accidental association; it's a deliberate choice to find camaraderie and common ground with those who actively defy God's commands. It’s a profound spiritual and moral alignment.
God calls out 'wickedness' even while people offer sacrifices. This verse exposes the danger of outward religion without inward reality.
Psalms 50 is a powerful indictment of religious hypocrisy. God is speaking through the Psalmist to those who perform religious duties but whose hearts are far from Him.
The God Who Sees All
Understand the original words
gannab · Hebrew Noun
One who steals or takes property that does not belong to them. Biblically, it signifies a breach of trust, lack of integrity, and violation of the commandment against stealing.
mena'eph · Hebrew Noun
A person who engages in sexual relations outside of the covenant of marriage. It is used both literally to describe sexual immorality and metaphorically to describe spiritual unfaithfulness to God.
This Psalm speaks powerfully to any era where people profess faith but live lives marked by dishonesty and moral compromise. The prophetic and apostolic traditions show a consistent pattern of God confronting those who separate outward religious duty from inward righteousness, particularly when such hypocrisy damages the community.
Late 8th century BC
Prophetic Ministry of Isaiah
Isaiah warns Israel about social injustice, corruption, and empty religious rituals, setting a precedent for later prophets addressing similar issues.
c. 605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
As part of Nebuchadnezzar's conquest, the first group of Judeans, including elite citizens, are taken to Babylon, signaling a period of increasing divine judgment.
586 BC
Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple
Nebuchadnezzar razes Jerusalem and destroys Solomon's Temple, marking the culmination of God's judgment on Judah for persistent disobedience.
c. 450 BC
Ezra and Nehemiah's Reforms
After the return from exile, Ezra and Nehemiah confront widespread moral and religious compromise, including corrupt practices and social injustice among the returned community.
This passage directly echoes Psalm 50:18 by describing those who teach against adultery and theft but commit these very sins themselves, highlighting the hypocrisy.
Micah 6:8While Psalm 50:18 condemns outward, corrupted religious practice, Micah 6:8 points to the true heart of worship: to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God, contrasting with the superficiality described in the psalm.
Matthew 23:25-28Jesus confronts the religious leaders for their outward show of piety while being inwardly corrupt, much like the warnings in Psalm 50, calling them 'whitewashed tombs' full of dead men's bones.
Proverbs 1:10-14This passage describes sinners enticing one another into wickedness, mirroring the 'consenting with' and 'partaking with' of Psalm 50:18, showing how such associations lead to deeper sin.
pulpitPsalms 50:18: "When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers."
Verse 18. - When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst unto him. God tests his professed, but really disobedient, servants by the second table of the Decalogue, and finds them wanting. If they do not themselves actually rob, they give their consent, they become accessories before the fact, to robbery. They probably participate in the gains. And hast been partaker with adulterer…
gillPsalms 50:18: "When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers."
When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him,.... Or "didst run with him" (a); joined and agreed with him in the commission of the same things; which was literally true of the Scribes and Pharisees: they devoured widows' houses, and robbed them of their substance, under a pretence of long prayers; they consented to the deeds of Barabbas, a robber, when they preferred him…
What's easily missed is that "consentedst with him" isn't just passive agreement, but an active delight and desire to associate with wrongdoing. This wasn't just seeing a thief and letting it slide; it was actively joining in, sharing in the spoils, and making common cause with those who lived by dishonest and impure practices.
God is calling out those who outwardly profess to worship Him but live corrupt lives, highlighting their complicity with wrongdoing. This verse directly follows God's pronouncements against those who falsely claim to uphold His law while living in sin, showing that their secret approval and participation in theft and adultery are just as offensive as their hypocrisy. The passage continues by detailing further sins like malicious gossip and slander.
God is calling out those who outwardly profess to worship Him but live corrupt lives, highlighting their complicity with wrongdoing. This verse directly follows God's pronouncements against those who falsely claim to uphold His law while living in sin, showing that their secret approval and participation in theft and adultery are just as offensive as their hypocrisy. The passage continues by detailing further sins like malicious gossip and slander.
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Early 1st century AD
Jesus' Ministry and Critique of Religious Leaders
Jesus confronts the hypocrisy of religious leaders who outwardly perform rituals but inwardly harbor greed, injustice, and moral corruption, echoing the themes in Psalm 50.
c. AD 30-33
Jesus' Crucifixion
The ultimate sacrifice for sin, highlighting the severity of sin and the need for true repentance, contrasting with the superficial piety condemned in the Psalms.
c. AD 62-67— this verse
Paul's Epistles Written
Apostle Paul's letters, such as Romans, further elaborate on themes of outward observance versus inward transformation, condemning those who claim to know God but deny Him by their actions.
"If you see a thief, you are pleased with him, and you keep company with adulterers." — What's easily missed is that "consentedst with him" isn't just passive agreement, but an active delight and desire to associate with wrongdoing. This wasn't just seeing a thief and letting it slide;…
