Psalm 49

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.