PSALMS
CHAPTER 49

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

¹ Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who live in this world,
² both low and high,
rich and poor alike:
³ My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
the utterance from my heart will give understanding.
⁴ I will turn my ear to a proverb;
with the harp I will expound my riddle:

⁵ Why should I fear when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me-
⁶ those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their great riches?
⁷ No man can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for him-
⁸ the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough-
⁹ that he should live on forever
and not see decay.

¹⁰ For all can see that wise men die;
the foolish and the senseless alike perish
and leave their wealth to others.
¹¹ Their tombs will remain their houses ^[1] forever,
their dwellings for endless generations,
though they had ^[2] named lands after themselves.

¹² But man, despite his riches, does not endure;
he is ^[3] like the beasts that perish.

¹³ This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
and of their followers, who approve their sayings.
Selah
¹⁴ Like sheep they are destined for the grave, ^[4]
and death will feed on them.
The upright will rule over them in the morning;
their forms will decay in the grave, ^[5]
far from their princely mansions.
¹⁵ But God will redeem my life ^[6] from the grave;
he will surely take me to himself.
Selah

¹⁶ Do not be overawed when a man grows rich,
when the splendor of his house increases;
¹⁷ for he will take nothing with him when he dies,
his splendor will not descend with him.
¹⁸ Though while he lived he counted himself blessed-
and men praise you when you prosper-
¹⁹ he will join the generation of his fathers,
who will never see the light of life .

²⁰ A man who has riches without understanding
is like the beasts that perish.

Footnotes

1. 49:11 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew In their thoughts their houses will remain
2. 49:11 Or / for they have
3. 49:12 Hebrew; Septuagint and Syriac read verse 12 the same as verse 20.
4. 49:14 Hebrew Sheol ; also in verse 15
5. 49:14 Hebrew Sheol ; also in verse 15
6. 49:15 Or soul

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Bible text from Gospelcom.net.  Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.

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