Psalm 49–50

Wealth and the Fate of the Wicked

49For the music director. Of the sons of Korah. A psalm.^a

¹Hear this, all you peoples;

give ear, all you inhabitants of the world,

²both low and high,

rich and poor together.

³My mouth will speak wisdom,

and the meditation of my heart will be understanding.

⁴I will incline my ear to a proverb;

I will propound^b my riddle on a lyre.

⁵Why should I fear in times of calamity,^c

when iniquity surrounds me at my heels,

⁶those who trust their wealth

and boast about the abundance of their riches?

⁷Surely a man cannot redeem a brother.

He cannot give to God his ransom

⁸(since^d the redemption price for their life is costly

and it always fails),

⁹so that he may stay alive forever

and not see the pit.

¹⁰For he sees that the wise die,

together with the fool and brute they perish,

and leave their wealth to the next generation.

¹¹Within them they think their houses are forever,

their dwelling places from generation to generation.

They name^e their lands by their own names.

¹²But man cannot continue in his pomp.

He is like the beasts that perish.

¹³This is the journey^f of those who have foolish confidence,

and those after them who accept their sayings. Selah

¹⁴Like sheep they are destined to Sheol;

death will shepherd them.

But the upright will rule over them in the morning,

and their forms will be for Sheol to consume,

far from his lofty abode.

¹⁵Surely God will ransom my life

from the power^g of Sheol,

because he will receive me. Selah

¹⁶Do not fear when a man becomes rich,

when the wealth^h of his house increases,

¹⁷because when he dies he will not take away any of it.

His wealth will not follow down after him.

¹⁸Though he congratulated his soul while he was living

—and people will praise you when you do well for yourself—

¹⁹itⁱ will go to the generation of his fathers.

Never will they see light.

²⁰Humankind in its pomp, but does not understand,

is like the beasts that perish.

An Oracle Concerning Sacrifices

50A psalm of Asaph.^a

¹The Supreme God, God, Yahweh, has spoken

and summoned the earth,

from the rising of the sun

to its setting.

²From Zion, the perfection of beauty,

God shines forth.

³Our God comes and he is not silent.

Before him fire devours,

and around him it is very tempestuous.

⁴He summons the heavens above

and the earth that he might judge his people:

⁵“Gather to me my loyal ones,

those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”

⁶And the heavens declare his righteousness,

because God himself is judge. Selah

⁷“Hear, O my people, and I will speak,

O Israel, and I will testify against you.

I am God, your God.

⁸It is not concerning a lack of your sacrifices that I rebuke you,

and your burnt offerings are before me continually.

⁹I will not take from your house a bull

or from your stalls a he-goat,

¹⁰because every animal of the forest is mine,

the cattle on a thousand hills.

¹¹I know every bird of the mountains,

and every moving creature in the field is mine.

¹²If I were hungry I would not tell you,

because the world and its fullness are mine.

¹³Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats?

¹⁴Offer to God a thank offering

and pay your vows to the Most High.

¹⁵And call me in the day of trouble;

I will deliver you, and you will glorify me.”

¹⁶But to the wicked God says,

“What right have you to recite my statutes

and mention my covenant with your mouth,^b

¹⁷while you yourself hate discipline,

and cast my words behind you?

¹⁸When you see a thief, then you are pleased with him,

and your association is with adulterers.

¹⁹You give your mouth free rein for evil,

and you harness your tongue to deceit.

²⁰You sit and speak against your brother;

you slander your mother’s son.

²¹These things you have done, and I have been silent;

You imagined that I was just like you.

I will rebuke you and present an argument before your eyes.

²²Now consider this, you who forget God,

lest I tear you apart, and there will be none to deliver.

²³He who sacrifices a thank offering honors me,

and he who orders his way;

I will show him the salvation of God.”