Psalm 49:3–10

3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom;

the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.

4 I will turn my ear to a proverb;

with the harp I will expound my riddle:

5 Why should I fear when evil days come,

when wicked deceivers surround me—

6 those who trust in their wealth

and boast of their great riches?

7 No one can redeem the life of another

or give to God a ransom for them—

8 the ransom for a life is costly,

no payment is ever enough—

9 so that they should live on forever

and not see decay.

10 For all can see that the wise die,

that the foolish and the senseless also perish,

leaving their wealth to others.

3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom;

And the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

4 I will incline mine ear to a parable:

I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil,

When the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?

6 They that trust in their wealth,

And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;

7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother,

Nor give to God a ransom for him:

8 (For the redemption of their soul is precious,

And it ceaseth for ever:)

9 That he should still live for ever,

And not see corruption.

10 For he seeth that wise men die,

Likewise the fool and the brutish person perish,

And leave their wealth to others.

3 For my words are wise,

and my thoughts are filled with insight.

4 I listen carefully to many proverbs

and solve riddles with inspiration from a harp.

5 Why should I fear when trouble comes,

when enemies surround me?

6 They trust in their wealth

and boast of great riches.

7 Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death

by paying a ransom to God.

8 Redemption does not come so easily,

for no one can ever pay enough

9 to live forever

and never see the grave.

10 Those who are wise must finally die,

just like the foolish and senseless,

leaving all their wealth behind.

3 My mouth shall speak wisdom,

And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding.

4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;

I will disclose my dark saying on the harp.

5 Why should I fear in the days of evil,

When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?

6 Those who trust in their wealth

And boast in the multitude of their riches,

7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother,

Nor give to God a ransom for him—

8 For the redemption of their souls is costly,

And it shall cease forever—

9 That he should continue to live eternally,

And not see the Pit.

10 For he sees wise men die;

Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish,

And leave their wealth to others.

3 What I say is wise,

and my heart speaks with understanding.

4 I will pay attention to a wise saying;

I will explain my riddle on the harp.

5 Why should I be afraid of bad days?

Why should I fear when evil people surround me?

6 They trust in their money

and brag about their riches.

7 No one can buy back the life of another.

No one can pay God for his own life,

8 because the price of a life is high.

No payment is ever enough.

9 Do people live forever?

Don’t they all face death?

10 See, even wise people die.

Fools and stupid people also die

and leave their wealth to others.

3 My mouth shall speak wisdom;

And the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

4 I will incline mine ear to a parable:

I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil,

When iniquity at my heels compasseth me about?

6 They that trust in their wealth,

And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;

7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother,

Nor give to God a ransom for him;

8 (For the redemption of their life is costly,

And it faileth for ever),

9 That he should still live alway,

That he should not see corruption.

10 For he shall see it.

Wise men die;

The fool and the brutish alike perish,

And leave their wealth to others.

3 My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding: 4 I will incline mine ear to a parable, I will open my riddle upon the harp. 5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of adversity, when the iniquity of my supplanters encompasseth me? —

6 They depend upon their wealth, and boast themselves in the abundance of their riches. … 7 None can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him, 8 (For the redemption of their soul is costly, and must be given up for ever,) 9 That he should still live perpetually, and not see corruption. 10 For he seeth that wise men die; all alike, the fool and the brutish perish, and they leave their wealth to others.

3 My mouth will speak wise sayings, 

the insights I have carefully considered. 

4 I will turn my attention to a proverb. 

I will explain my riddle with the ⸤music of⸥ a lyre. 

5 Why should I be afraid in times of trouble, 

when slanderers surround me with evil? 

6 They trust their riches 

and brag about their abundant wealth. 

7 No one can ever buy back another person 

or pay God a ransom for his life. 

8 The price to be paid for his soul is too costly. 

He must always give up 

9 in order to live forever and never see the pit. 

10 Indeed, one can see that wise people die, 

that foolish and stupid people meet the same end. 

They leave their riches to others. 

3 My mouth speaks wisdom;

my heart’s meditation brings understanding.

4 I turn my ear to a proverb;

I explain my riddle with a lyre.

5 Why should I fear in times of trouble?

The iniquity of my foes surrounds me.

6 They trust in their wealth

and boast of their abundant riches.

7 Yet these cannot redeem a person

or pay his ransom to God —

8 since the price of redeeming him is too costly,

one should forever stop trying —

9 so that he may live forever

and not see the Pit.

10 For one can see that wise men die;

foolish and stupid men also pass away.

Then they leave their wealth to others.

3 My mouth shall speak wisdom;

the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;

I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp.

5 Why should I fear in times of trouble,

when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,

6 those who trust in their wealth

and boast of the abundance of their riches?

7 Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life;

there is no price one can give to God for it.

8 For the ransom of life is costly

and can never suffice,

9 that one should live on forever

and never see the Pit.

10 When we look at the wise, they die;

fool and dolt perish together

and leave their wealth to others.

3 My mouth will speak wisdom,

and the meditation of my heart will be understanding.

4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;

I will propound my riddle on a lyre.

5 Why should I fear in times of calamity,

when iniquity surrounds me at my heels,

6 those who trust their wealth

and boast about the abundance of their riches?

7 Surely a man cannot redeem a brother.

He cannot give to God his ransom

8 (since the redemption price for their life is costly

and it always fails),

9 so that he may stay alive forever

and not see the pit.

10 For he sees that the wise die,

together with the fool and brute they perish,

and leave their wealth to the next generation.

3 My mouth will speak wise words.

What I say from my heart will give understanding.

4 I will pay attention to a proverb.

I will explain my riddle as I play the harp.

5 Why should I be afraid when trouble comes?

Why should I fear when sinners are all around me?

They are the kind of people who want to take advantage of me.

6 They trust in their wealth.

They brag about how rich they are.

7 No man can pay for the life of anyone else.

No one can give God what that would cost.

8 The price for a life is very high.

No payment is ever enough.

9 No one can pay enough to live forever

and not rot in the grave.

10 Everyone can see that even wise people die.

Foolish and dumb people also pass away.

All of them leave their wealth to others.

3 My mouth will speak wisdom,

And the meditation of my heart will be understanding.

4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;

I will express my riddle on the harp.

5 Why should I fear in days of adversity,

When the iniquity of my foes surrounds me,

6 Even those who trust in their wealth

And boast in the abundance of their riches?

7 No man can by any means redeem his brother

Or give to God a ransom for him—

8 For the redemption of his soul is costly,

And he should cease trying forever—

9 That he should live on eternally,

That he should not undergo decay.

10 For he sees that even wise men die;

The stupid and the senseless alike perish

And leave their wealth to others.