Psalm 49

Psalm 49

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

¹Hear this, all peoples; Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

²Both low and high,

Rich and poor together.

³My mouth shall speak wisdom,

And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding.

⁴I will incline my ear to a proverb;

I will disclose my ¹dark saying on the harp.

⁵Why should I fear in the days of evil,

When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?

⁶Those who ^atrust in their wealth

And boast in the multitude of their riches,

⁷None of them can by any means redeem his brother,

Nor ^bgive to God a ransom for him—

⁸For ^cthe redemption of their souls is costly,

And it shall cease forever—

⁹That he should continue to live eternally,

And ^dnot ²see the Pit.

¹⁰For he sees wise men die;

Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish,

And leave their wealth to others.

¹¹³Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever,

Their dwelling places to all generations;

They ^ecall their lands after their own names.

¹²Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not ⁴remain;

He is like the beasts that perish.

¹³This is the way of those who are ^ffoolish,

And of their posterity who approve their sayings.

Selah

¹⁴Like sheep they are laid in the grave;

Death shall feed on them;

^gThe upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;

^hAnd their beauty shall be consumed in ⁵the grave, far from their dwelling.

¹⁵But God ⁱwill redeem my soul from the power of ⁶the grave,

For He shall ^jreceive me.

Selah

¹⁶Do not be afraid when one becomes rich,

When the glory of his house is increased;

¹⁷For when he dies he shall carry nothing away;

His glory shall not descend after him.

¹⁸Though while he lives ^khe blesses himself

(For men will praise you when you do well for yourself),

¹⁹He shall go to the generation of his fathers;

They shall never see ^llight. ⁷

²⁰A man who is in honor, yet does not understand,

^mIs like the beasts that perish.