Psalm 49

Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?

49To the choirmaster. A Psalm of ^fthe Sons of Korah.

^1gHear this, all peoples!

Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

^2hboth low and high,

rich and poor together!

³My mouth shall speak ⁱwisdom;

the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

⁴I will incline my ear to ^ja proverb;

I will solve my ^kriddle to the music of the lyre.

^5lWhy should I fear in ^mtimes of trouble,

when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,

⁶those who ⁿtrust in their wealth

and boast of the abundance of their riches?

⁷Truly no man ^ocan ransom another,

or ^pgive to God ^qthe price of his life,

⁸for ^rthe ransom of their life is costly

and can never suffice,

⁹that he should live on forever

and ^snever see the pit.

¹⁰For he sees ^tthat even the wise die;

^uthe fool and the stupid alike must perish

and ^vleave their wealth to others.

¹¹Their ^wgraves are their homes forever,¹

their dwelling places ^xto all generations,

though they ^ycalled lands by their own names.

¹²Man in his pomp ^zwill not remain;

^ahe is like the beasts that perish.

¹³This is the path of those who have ^bfoolish confidence;

yet after them people approve of their boasts.² Selah

¹⁴Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;

death shall be their shepherd,

and the upright ^cshall rule over them in the morning.

^dTheir form shall be consumed ^ein Sheol, with no place to dwell.

¹⁵But God will ^fransom my soul from the power of Sheol,

for he will ^greceive me. Selah

¹⁶Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,

when the glory of his house increases.

^17hFor when he dies he will ⁱcarry nothing away;

his glory will not go down after him.

¹⁸For though, while he lives, he counts himself ^jblessed—

and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—

¹⁹his soul will ^kgo to the generation of his fathers,

who will never again ^lsee light.

^20mMan in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.