Psalm 16:4 warns that those who turn to other gods will find their sorrows multiplied, and it records the psalmist’s refusal to join in their worship or even speak their names. The verse is a declaration of loyalty: the one who wrote it has decided that the LORD alone will be the source of good, and that other allegiances will not be honored. The psalm is traditionally attributed to David, and it is spoken in the first person, so the words belong to a worshiper who is making a personal choice about whom to trust.
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 first clause, “Their sorrows shall be multiplied who give gifts to another god,” is a plain observation. People who pour their devotion, time and resources into rival powers do not end up with more peace for it. The verse does not describe a magic curse; it describes how misplaced trust tends to multiply trouble, because the god being served cannot deliver what is promised, and the worshiper keeps returning to it anyway.
The second clause, “Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take their names on my lips,” describes the psalmist’s own refusal. A drink offering was a liquid poured out in worship, and the phrase here points to the bloody rites that accompanied some pagan cults. The writer will not take part in them, and will not even repeat the names of those deities. Speaking a name in that world was a way of acknowledging its authority, so silence was itself a form of loyalty.
What the verse does not promise is a life free of all difficulty for the faithful. It contrasts two paths and says which one ends in sorrow. It is a statement about where good comes from, not a list of guarantees about every circumstance.
The Context of Psalm 16:4
Psalm 16 is a psalm of trust, and it opens with a prayer for protection: “Preserve me, God, for in you do I take refuge.” Verse 2 gives the heart of it: “Apart from you I have no good thing.” The surrounding verses build a picture of a worshiper who has found contentment in God alone. Verse 3 calls the faithful people of the land “the excellent ones in whom is all my delight,” which places verse 4 directly against that community of loyal worshipers.
The verses that follow complete the thought. Verse 5 speaks of the LORD as the one who “assigned my portion and my cup,” and verse 6 says “the lines have fallen to me in pleasant places.” The contrast is clear: those who chase other gods end in sorrow, while the psalmist’s portion and inheritance come from the LORD. Reading verse 4 in that setting shows that its refusal is not bitterness toward others but a settled conviction about where security and joy are found.
Key Phrases in Psalm 16:4
Exodus 20:3
“You shall have no other gods before me.
(WEB)
This commandment states the foundation behind Psalm 16:4: the LORD alone is to be worshiped, and no rival may take his place. The psalmist’s refusal to honor other gods is an expression of the same first commandment given at Sinai.
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)
Later in the same psalm, the writer describes the fullness of joy found in God’s presence. Where verse 4 warns of multiplied sorrow, this verse celebrates the path of life that the faithful are given.
A Short Prayer From Psalm 16:4
Lord, you know how easily my heart wanders toward things that promise more than they can give. Keep me from chasing the substitutes that multiply sorrow, and draw my affection back to you alone. Let my words, my worries and my plans reflect that you are my portion and my cup. Teach me to find my good in your faithfulness each day, and help me trust that what you have given me is enough. Amen.
