Psalm 46–49

PSALM 46

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song.

¹God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

²Therefore we will not fear though the earth should change,

though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;

³though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble with its tumult. [Selah]

⁴There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy habitation of the Most High.

⁵God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;

God will help her right early.

⁶The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;

he utters his voice, the earth melts.

⁷The Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our refuge. [Selah]

⁸Come, behold the works of the Lord,

how he has wrought desolations in the earth.

⁹He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear,

he burns the chariots with fire!

¹⁰“Be still, and know that I am God.

I am exalted among the nations,

I am exalted in the earth!”

¹¹The Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our refuge. [Selah]

PSALM 47

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

¹Clap your hands, all peoples!

Shout to God with loud songs of joy!

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

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!

⁸God reigns 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

A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

¹Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised

in the city of our God!

His holy mountain, ²beautiful in elevation,

is the joy of all the earth,

Mount Zion, in the far north,

the city of the great King.

³Within her citadels God

has shown himself a sure defense.

⁴For lo, 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,

anguish as of a woman in travail.

⁷By the east wind thou didst shatter

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 for ever. [Selah]

⁹We have thought on thy steadfast love, O God,

in the midst of thy temple.

¹⁰As thy name, O God,

so thy praise reaches to the ends of the earth.

Thy right hand is filled with victory;

¹¹let Mount Zion be glad!

Let the daughters of Judah rejoice

because of thy judgments!

¹²Walk about Zion, go round about her,

number her towers,

¹³consider well her ramparts,

go through her citadels;

that you may tell the next generation

¹⁴that this is God,

our God for ever and ever.

He will be our guide for ever.

PSALM 49

To the choirmaster. 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;

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 lyre.

⁵Why should I fear in times of trouble,

when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,

⁶men who trust in their wealth

and boast of the abundance of their riches?

⁷Truly no man can ransom himself,

or give to God the price of his life,

⁸for the ransom of his life is costly,

and can never suffice,

⁹that he should continue to live on for ever,

and never see the Pit.

¹⁰Yea, he shall see that even the wise die,

the fool and the stupid alike must perish

and leave their wealth to others.

¹¹Their graves are their homes for ever,

their dwelling places to all generations,

though they named lands their own.

¹²Man cannot abide in his pomp,

he is like the beasts that perish.

¹³This is the fate of those who have foolish confidence,

the end of those who are pleased with their portion. [Selah]

¹⁴Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;

Death shall be their shepherd;

straight to the grave they descend,

and their form shall waste away;

Sheol shall be their home.

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

for he will receive me. [Selah]

¹⁶Be not afraid when one becomes rich,

when the glory of his house increases.

¹⁷For when he dies he will carry nothing away;

his glory will not go down after him.

¹⁸Though, while he lives, he counts himself happy,

and though a man gets praise when he does well for himself,

¹⁹he will go to the generation of his fathers,

who will never more see the light.

²⁰Man cannot abide in his pomp,

he is like the beasts that perish.