Psalm 49

PSALM 49

The Folly of Trusting in Riches.

For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

^1aHear this, all peoples;

Give ear, all ^binhabitants of the world,

²Both ^alow and high,

Rich and poor together.

³My mouth will ^aspeak wisdom,

And the meditation of my heart will be ^bunderstanding.

⁴I will incline my ear to ^aa proverb;

^bI will ¹express my ^criddle on the harp.

⁵Why should I ^afear in days of adversity,

When the iniquity of my ¹foes surrounds me,

⁶Even those who ^atrust in their wealth

And boast in the abundance of their riches?

⁷No man can by any means ^aredeem his brother

Or give to God a ^bransom for him—

⁸For ^athe redemption of ¹his soul is costly,

And he should cease trying forever—

⁹That he should ^alive on eternally,

That he should not ^1bundergo decay.

¹⁰For he sees that even ^awise men die;

The ^bstupid and the senseless alike perish

And ^cleave their wealth to others.

¹¹Their ^1ainner thought is that their houses ^bare forever

And their dwelling places to all generations;

They have ^ccalled their lands after their own names.

¹²But ^aman in his ¹pomp will not endure;

He is like the ²beasts that ³perish.

¹³This is the ^away of those who are foolish,

And of those after them who ^bapprove their words.

¹Selah.

¹⁴As sheep they are appointed ^afor ¹Sheol;

Death shall be their shepherd;

And the ^bupright shall rule over them in the morning,

And their form shall be for Sheol ^cto consume

²So that they have no habitation.

¹⁵But God will ^aredeem my soul from the ¹power of ²Sheol,

For ^bHe will receive me.

Selah.

¹⁶Do not be afraid ^awhen a man becomes rich,

When the ¹glory of his house is increased;

¹⁷For when he dies he will ^acarry nothing away;

His ¹glory will not descend after him.

¹⁸Though while he lives he ^acongratulates ¹himself—

And though men praise you when you do well for yourself—

¹⁹¹He shall ^ago to the generation of his fathers;

They will never see ^bthe light.

^20aMan in his ¹pomp, yet without understanding,

Is ^blike the ²beasts that ³perish.