Psalm 49:1–20

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.^*