Psalm 49–50

Psalm 49

MISPLACED TRUST IN WEALTH

For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah.

¹Hear this, all you peoples;

listen, all who inhabit the world,^h

²both low and high,

rich and poor together.ⁱ

³My mouth speaks wisdom;

my heart’s meditation brings understanding.^j

⁴I turn my ear to a proverb;

I explain my riddle with a lyre.^k

⁵Why should I fear in times of trouble?

The iniquity of my foes surrounds me.^l

⁶They trust in their wealth

and boast of their abundant riches.^m

⁷Yet these cannot redeem a person^A

or pay his ransom to Godⁿ—

⁸since the price of redeeming him is too costly,

one should forever stop trying^Bo—

⁹so that he may live forever

and not see the Pit.^p

¹⁰For one can see that the wise die;

the foolish and stupid also pass away.^q

Then they leave their wealth to others.^r

¹¹Their graves are their permanent homes,^C

their dwellings from generation to generation,

though they have named estates after themselves.^s

¹²But despite his assets,^D mankind will not last;

he is like the animals that perish.^t

¹³This is the way of those who are arrogant,

and of their followers,

who approve of their words.^Eu

Selah

¹⁴Like sheep they are headed for Sheol;

Death will shepherd them.

The upright will rule over them in the morning,^v

and their form will waste away in Sheol,^F

far from their lofty abode.^w

¹⁵But God will redeem me

from the power of Sheol,

for he will take me.^x

Selah

¹⁶Do not be afraid when a person gets rich,

when the wealth of his house increases.^y

¹⁷For when he dies, he will take nothing at all;

his wealth will not follow him down.^z

¹⁸Though he blesses himself during his lifetime—

and you are acclaimed when you do well for yourself^aa—

¹⁹he will go to the generation of his ancestors;

they will never see the light.^ab

²⁰Mankind, with his assets

but without understanding,

is like the animals that perish.^ac

Psalm 50

GOD AS JUDGE

A psalm of Asaph.^ad

¹The Mighty One, God,^H the Lord, speaks;

he summons the earth

from the rising of the sun to its setting.^ae

²From Zion, the perfection of beauty,

God appears in radiance.^Aa

³Our God is coming; he will not be silent!

Devouring fire precedes him,

and a storm rages around him.^b

⁴On high, he summons heaven and earth

in order to judge his people:^c

⁵“Gather my faithful ones to me,

those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”^d

⁶The heavens proclaim his righteousness,^e

for God is the Judge.^f

Selah

⁷“Listen, my people, and I will speak;

I will testify against you, Israel.

I am God, your God.^g

⁸I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices

or for your burnt offerings,

which are continually before me.^h

⁹I will not take a bull from your household

or male goats from your pens,ⁱ

¹⁰for every animal of the forest is mine,

the cattle on a thousand hills.

¹¹I know every bird of the mountains,

and the creatures of the field are mine.^j

¹²If I were hungry, I would not tell you,

for the world and everything in it is mine.^k

¹³Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats?^l

¹⁴Offer a thanksgiving sacrifice to God,^m

and pay your vows to the Most High.ⁿ

¹⁵Call on me in a day of trouble;

I will rescue you, and you will honor me.”^o

¹⁶But God says to the wicked:

“What right do you have to recite my statutes

and to take my covenant on your lips?^p

¹⁷You hate instruction

and fling my words behind you.^q

¹⁸When you see a thief,

you make friends with him,

and you associate with adulterers.^r

¹⁹You unleash your mouth for evil

and harness your tongue for deceit.^s

²⁰You sit, maligning your brother,

slandering your mother’s son.^t

²¹You have done these things, and I kept silent;

you thought I was just like you.^u

But I will rebuke you

and lay out the case before you.^Bv

²²“Understand this, you who forget God,

or I will tear you apart,

and there will be no one to rescue you.^w

²³Whoever offers a thanksgiving sacrifice honors me,

and whoever orders his conduct,

I will show him the salvation of God.”^x