Psalm 47–50

God, the King of the World

For the director of music. A psalm of the sons of Korah.

47Clap your hands, all you people.

Shout to God with joy.

²The Lord Most High is wonderful.

He is the great King over all the earth!

³He defeated nations for us

and put them under our control.

⁴He chose the land we would inherit.

We are the children of Jacob, whom he loved.

Selah

⁵God has risen with a shout of joy;

the Lord has risen as the trumpets sounded.

⁶Sing praises to God. Sing praises.

Sing praises to our King. Sing praises.

⁷God is King of all the earth,

so sing a song of praise to him.

⁸God is King over the nations.

God sits on his holy throne.

⁹The leaders of the nations meet

with the people of the God of Abraham,

because the leaders of the earth belong to God.

He is supreme.

Jerusalem, the City of God

A psalm of the sons of Korah.

48The Lord is great; he should be praised

in the city of our God, on his holy mountain.

²It is high and beautiful

and brings joy to the whole world.

Mount Zion is like the high mountains of the north;

it is the city of the Great King.

³God is within its palaces;

he is known as its defender.

⁴Kings joined together

and came to attack the city.

⁵But when they saw it, they were amazed.

They ran away in fear.

⁶Fear took hold of them;

they hurt like a woman having a baby.

⁷You destroyed the large trading ships

with an east wind.

⁸First we heard

and now we have seen

that God will always keep his city safe.

It is the city of the Lord All-Powerful,

the city of our God.

Selah

⁹God, we come into your Temple

to think about your love.

¹⁰God, your name is known everywhere;

all over the earth people praise you.

Your right hand is full of goodness.

¹¹Mount Zion is happy

and all the towns of Judah rejoice,

because your decisions are fair.

¹²Walk around Jerusalem

and count its towers.

¹³Notice how strong they are.

Look at the palaces.

Then you can tell your children about them.

¹⁴This God is our God forever and ever.

He will guide us from now on.

Trusting Money Is Foolish

For the director of music. A psalm of the sons of Korah.

49Listen to this, all you nations;

listen, all you who live on earth.

²Listen, both great and small,

rich and poor together.

³What I say is wise,

and my heart speaks with understanding.

⁴I will pay attention to a wise saying;

I will explain my riddle on the harp.

⁵Why should I be afraid of bad days?

Why should I fear when evil people surround me?

⁶They trust in their money

and brag about their riches.

⁷No one can buy back the life of another.

No one can pay God for his own life,

⁸because the price of a life is high.

No payment is ever enough.

⁹Do people live forever?

Don’t they all face death?

¹⁰See, even wise people die.

Fools and stupid people also die

and leave their wealth to others.

¹¹Their graves will always be their homes.

They will live there from now on,

even though they named places after themselves.

¹²Even rich people do not live forever;

like the animals, people die.

¹³This is what will happen to those who trust in themselves

and to their followers who believe them.

Selah

¹⁴Like sheep, they must die,

and death will be their shepherd.

Honest people will rule over them in the morning,

and their bodies will rot in a grave far from home.

¹⁵But God will save my life

and will take me from the grave.

Selah

¹⁶Don’t be afraid of rich people

because their houses are more beautiful.

¹⁷They don’t take anything to the grave;

their wealth won’t go down with them.

¹⁸Even though they were praised when they were alive—

and people may praise you when you succeed—

¹⁹they will go to where their ancestors are.

They will never see light again.

²⁰Rich people with no understanding

are just like animals that die.

God Wants True Worship

A psalm of Asaph.

50The God of gods, the Lord, speaks.

He calls the earth from the rising to the setting sun.

²God shines from Jerusalem,

whose beauty is perfect.

³Our God comes, and he will not be silent.

A fire burns in front of him,

and a powerful storm surrounds him.

⁴He calls to the sky above and to the earth

that he might judge his people.

⁵He says, “Gather around, you who worship me,

who have made an agreement with me, using a sacrifice.”

⁶God is the judge,

and even the skies say he is right.

Selah

⁷God says, “My people, listen to me;

Israel, I will testify against you.

I am God, your God.

⁸I do not scold you for your sacrifices.

You always bring me your burnt offerings.

⁹But I do not need bulls from your stalls

or goats from your pens,

¹⁰because every animal of the forest is already mine.

The cattle on a thousand hills are mine.

¹¹I know every bird on the mountains,

and every living thing in the fields is mine.

¹²If I were hungry, I would not tell you,

because the earth and everything in it are mine.

¹³I don’t eat the meat of bulls

or drink the blood of goats.

¹⁴Give an offering to show thanks to God.

Give God Most High what you have promised.

¹⁵Call to me in times of trouble.

I will save you, and you will honor me.”

¹⁶But God says to the wicked,

“Why do you talk about my laws?

Why do you mention my agreement?

¹⁷You hate my teachings

and turn your back on what I say.

¹⁸When you see a thief, you join him.

You take part in adultery.

¹⁹You don’t stop your mouth from speaking evil,

and your tongue makes up lies.

²⁰You speak against your brother

and lie about your mother’s son.

²¹I have kept quiet while you did these things,

so you thought I was just like you.

But I will scold you

and accuse you to your face.

²²“Think about this, you who forget God.

Otherwise, I will tear you apart,

and no one will save you.

²³Those people honor me

who bring me offerings to show thanks.

And I, God, will save those who do that.”