Psalm 49
Deceptive Riches
1 For the director. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
2 Hear this, all you peoples;
listen carefully, all you inhabitants of the world,
3 whether lowborn or highborn,
rich and poor alike.
4 My mouth will speak words of wisdom,
and the utterance of my heart will give understanding.
5 I will listen carefully to a proverb,
and with the harp I will interpret my riddle.
6 Why should I be afraid in evil times
when I am beset by the wickedness of my foes,
7 those who place their trust in their wealth
and boast of the abundance of their riches?
8 For no one can ever redeem himself
or pay a ransom to God for his release.
9 The price to ransom a life would be too costly;
no one would ever have enough
10 to enable him to live on forever
and avoid being consigned to the pit.
11 For all can see that the wise die,
just as the foolish and the stupid also pass away,
and all leave their wealth to others.
12 Their graves are their eternal homes,
their dwelling places for all generations,
even though they had named lands after themselves.
13 Despite his riches,
a man cannot escape death;
he is like the beasts that perish.
14 Such is the destiny of those who trust in themselves alone,
the fate of those who are pleased with their lot. Selah
15 Like sheep they are destined for the netherworld,
with death as their shepherd.
They descend straight to the grave
where their bodies will waste away;
the netherworld will be their home.
16 But God will ransom me from the netherworld;
he will take me to himself. Selah
17 Do not be afraid when someone becomes rich
and the splendor of his house increases.
18 When he dies, he will take nothing with him;
his wealth will not accompany him below.
19 Although during his lifetime he considered himself blessed:
“They will praise me because I have done well,”
20 he will end up joining the company of his ancestors
who will never again see the light.
21 Despite his riches,
a man who does not have wisdom
is like the beasts that perish.
Footnotes
- Psalm 49:1
- Psalm 49:1
- Psalm 49:2
- Psalm 49:4
- Psalm 49:5
- Psalm 49:6
- Psalm 49:8
- Psalm 49:11
- Psalm 49:11
- Psalm 49:13
- Psalm 49:14
- Psalm 49:15
- Psalm 49:16
- Psalm 49:17
- Psalm 49:18
- Psalm 49:20
- Psalm 49:21
