Psalm 49

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