Psalm 47–50

Psalm 47

God’s Rule over the Nations

To the leader. Of the Korahites. A Psalm.

¹Clap your hands, all you peoples;

shout to God with loud songs of joy.^*

²For the Lord, the Most High, is awesome,

a great king over all the earth.^*

³He subdued peoples under us

and nations under our feet.^*

⁴He chose our heritage for us,

the pride of Jacob whom he loves.   Selah^*

⁵God has gone up with a shout,

the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.^*

⁶Sing praises to God, sing praises;

sing praises to our King, sing praises.^*

⁷For God is the king of all the earth;

sing praises with a psalm.^n*

⁸God is king over the nations;

God sits on his holy throne.^*

⁹The princes of the peoples gather

as the people of the God of Abraham.

For the shields of the earth belong to God;

he is highly exalted.^*

Psalm 48

The Glory and Strength of Zion

A Song. A Psalm of the Korahites.

¹Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised

in the city of our God.

His holy mountain,^{* 2}beautiful in elevation,

is the joy of all the earth,

Mount Zion, in the far north,

the city of the great King.^*

³Within its citadels God

has shown himself a sure defense.^*

⁴Then the kings assembled;

they came on together.^*

⁵As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;

they were in panic; they took to flight;^*

⁶trembling took hold of them there,

pains as of a woman in labor,

⁷as when an east wind shatters

the ships of Tarshish.^*

⁸As we have heard, so have we seen

in the city of the Lord of hosts,

in the city of our God,

which God establishes forever.   Selah

⁹We ponder your steadfast love, O God,

in the midst of your temple.

¹⁰Your name, O God, like your praise,

reaches to the ends of the earth.

Your right hand is filled with victory.^*

¹¹Let Mount Zion be glad;

let the towns^o of Judah rejoice

because of your judgments.^*

¹²Walk about Zion; go all around it;

count its towers;

¹³consider well its ramparts;

go through its citadels,

that you may tell the next generation^*

¹⁴that this is God,

our God forever and ever.

He will be our guide forever.^*

Psalm 49

The Folly of Trust in Riches

To the leader. Of the Korahites. A Psalm.

¹Hear this, all you peoples;

give ear, all inhabitants of the world,^*

²both low and high,

rich and poor together.

³My mouth shall speak wisdom;

the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.^*

⁴I will incline my ear to a proverb;

I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp.^*

⁵Why should I fear in times of trouble,

when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,^*

⁶those who trust in their wealth

and boast of the abundance of their riches?^*

⁷Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life;^p

there is no price one can give to God for it.^*

⁸For the ransom of life is costly

and can never suffice,^*

⁹that one should live on forever

and never see the Pit.^*

¹⁰When we look at the wise, they die;

fool and dolt perish together

and leave their wealth to others.^*

¹¹Their graves^q are their homes forever,

their dwelling places to all generations,

though they named lands their own.^*

¹²Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;

they are like the animals that perish.^*

¹³Such is the fate of the foolhardy,

the end of those^r who are pleased with their lot.   Selah^*

¹⁴Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;

Death shall be their shepherd;

straight to the grave they descend,^s

and their form shall waste away;

Sheol shall be their home.^t*

¹⁵But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,

for he will receive me.   Selah^*

¹⁶Do not be afraid when some become rich,

when the wealth of their houses increases.^*

¹⁷For when they die they will carry nothing away;

their wealth will not go down after them.^*

¹⁸Though in their lifetime they count themselves happy

—for you are praised when you do well for yourself—^*

¹⁹they^u will go to the company of their ancestors,

who will never again see the light.^*

²⁰Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;

they are like the animals that perish.^*

Psalm 50

The Acceptable Sacrifice

A Psalm of Asaph.

¹The mighty one, God the Lord,

speaks and summons the earth

from the rising of the sun to its setting.^*

²Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,

God shines forth.^*

³Our God comes and does not keep silent;

before him is a devouring fire

and a mighty tempest all around him.^*

⁴He calls to the heavens above

and to the earth, that he may judge his people:^*

⁵“Gather to me my faithful ones,

who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”^*

⁶The heavens declare his righteousness,

for God himself is judge.   Selah^*

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

O Israel, I will testify against you.

I am God, your God.^*

⁸Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;

your burnt offerings are continually before me.^*

⁹I will not accept a bull from your house

or goats from your folds.^*

¹⁰For every wild animal of the forest is mine,

the cattle on a thousand hills.^*

¹¹I know all the birds of the air,^v

and all that moves in the field is mine.

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

for the world and all that is in it is mine.^*

¹³Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats?

¹⁴Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,^w

and pay your vows to the Most High.^*

¹⁵Call on me in the day of trouble;

I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”^*

¹⁶But to the wicked God says,

“What right have you to recite my statutes

or take my covenant on your lips?^*

¹⁷For you hate discipline,

and you cast my words behind you.^*

¹⁸You make friends with a thief when you see one,

and you keep company with adulterers.^*

¹⁹“You give your mouth free rein for evil,

and your tongue frames deceit.

²⁰You sit and speak against your kin;

you slander your own mother’s child.^*

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

you thought that I was one just like yourself.

But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.^*

²²“Mark this, then, you who forget God,

or I will tear you apart, and there will be no one to deliver.^*

²³Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me;

to those who go the right way,^x

I will show the salvation of God.”