Psalm 16:4 is David’s declaration that he will not join in the worship of other gods. He says that those who chase after other gods will find their sorrows multiplied, and that he refuses to offer their sacrifices or even speak their names. The verse is spoken by David, the traditional author of the psalm, in the first person, so the words are his personal resolve before God rather than a command handed down to others.
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.
Psalm 16:4 (WEB)
What Psalm 16:4 Means
The verse opens with a warning: those who “give gifts to another god” will see their sorrows grow. In the ancient world, gifts to a god meant offerings, food and drink poured out in hope of favor or protection. The psalmist observes that such devotion does not deliver what it promises. Instead, it multiplies grief, a sober observation drawn from watching where rival loyalties lead.
The second half is David’s own pledge. He will not pour out “drink offerings of blood,” a phrase that points to the bloody sacrifices and libations associated with pagan worship, and he will not take those gods’ names on his lips. The verb “take” carries the sense of lifting a name in speech or invocation. David is saying that his mouth will not be used to honor what he rejects.
What the verse does not promise is that every idolater will be struck down in a moment, or that David is immune to hardship. It describes a pattern and states a personal commitment. The sorrow it names is the wearing, lasting kind that comes from trusting something that cannot hold you.
The Context of Psalm 16:4
Psalm 16 belongs to the Psalter, the collection of Hebrew songs and prayers that Christians read as part of the Old Testament wisdom and poetry books. Its heading attributes it to David, and it is usually read as a prayer of trust written by someone in danger who looks to God for protection. The audience is ultimately the community of worshipers who sang and prayed these words, and through them anyone who turns to God for refuge.
The verses around it explain why verse 4 matters. In verse 2 David confesses, “Apart from you I have no good thing,” and in verse 5 he says the Lord has assigned his portion and cup. Verse 3 speaks of “the saints who are in the earth” as the excellent ones in whom he delights. Verse 4 therefore sits between a claim that God alone is good and a celebration of God’s faithful portion. Read this way, the rejection of other gods is the other side of a whole-hearted choice to belong to the Lord.
Key Phrases in Psalm 16:4
Exodus 20:3
“You shall have no other gods before me.
(WEB)
This commandment states the principle behind David’s refusal. Psalm 16:4 shows the psalmist living out the first commandment in his own speech and offerings, and he shows that the warning about rival gods was part of Israel’s foundation long before David’s time.
Psalm 16:11
You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there are pleasures forever more.
(WEB)
Read in the same psalm, this verse explains what David gains by turning away from other gods. Rather than sorrow multiplied, he finds the path of life and the fullness of joy in God’s presence, the positive side of the warning in verse 4.
A Short Prayer From Psalm 16:4
Lord, you know how easily my heart drifts toward things that promise more than they can give. Keep my hands and my words turned toward you. Where I have leaned on something else for security or comfort, show me the sorrow it is quietly building, and draw me back to the good portion you have given me. Let my speech bless you and my choices honor you, one ordinary day at a time. Amen.
