Psalm 49-54

New American Standard Bible

The Foolishness of Trusting in Riches.

For the music director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

49 ^(A)Hear this, all peoples;
Listen, all ^(B)inhabitants of the world,
²Both ^(C)low and high,
Rich and poor together.
³My mouth will ^(D)speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart will be ^(E)understanding.
⁴I will incline my ear to ^(F)a proverb;
^(G)I will ^[a]express my ^(H)riddle on the harp.

⁵Why should I ^(I)fear in days of adversity,
When the injustice of those who betray me surrounds me,
⁶Those who ^(J)trust in their wealth
And boast in the abundance of their riches?
⁷No one can by any means ^(K)redeem another
Or give God a ^(L)ransom for him—
⁸For ^(M)the redemption of ^[b]his soul is priceless,
And he should cease imagining forever—
⁹That he might ^(N)live on eternally,
That he might not ^[c]^(O)undergo decay.

¹⁰For he sees that even ^(P)wise people die;
The ^(Q)foolish and the stupid alike perish
And ^(R)leave their wealth to others.
¹¹Their ^[d]^(S)inner thought is that their houses ^(T)are forever
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have ^(U)named their lands after their own names.
¹²But ^(V)man in his splendor will not endure;
He is like the animals that ^[e]perish.

¹³This is the ^(W)way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who ^(X)approve their words. Selah
¹⁴Like sheep they sink down ^(Y)to ^[f]Sheol;
Death will be their shepherd;
And the ^(Z)upright will rule over them in the morning,
And their form shall be for ^[g]Sheol ^(AA)to consume
^[h]So that they have no lofty home.
¹⁵But God will ^(AB)redeem my soul from the ^[i]power of ^[j]Sheol,
For ^(AC)He will receive me. Selah

¹⁶Do not be afraid ^(AD)when a person becomes rich,
When the splendor of his house is increased;
¹⁷For when he dies, he will ^(AE)take nothing with him;
His ^[k]wealth will not descend after him.
¹⁸Though while he lives he ^(AF)congratulates ^[l]himself—
And though people praise you when you do well for yourself—
¹⁹^[m]He will ^(AG)go to the generation of his fathers;
They will never see ^(AH)the light.
²⁰^(AI)Mankind in its splendor, yet without understanding,
Is ^(AJ)like the animals that ^[n]perish.

God, the Judge of the Righteous and the Wicked.

A Psalm of ^[o]Asaph.

50 ^(AK)The Mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken
And summoned the earth, ^(AL)from ^[p]the rising of the sun to its setting.
²Out of Zion, ^(AM)the perfection of beauty,
God ^(AN)has shone.
³May our God ^(AO)come and not keep silent;
^(AP)Fire devours before Him,
And a storm is violently ^(AQ)raging around Him.
⁴He ^(AR)summons the heavens above,
And the earth, to judge His people:
⁵“Gather My ^(AS)godly ones to Me,
Those who have made a ^(AT)covenant with Me by ^(AU)sacrifice.”
⁶And the ^(AV)heavens declare His righteousness,
For ^(AW)God Himself is judge. Selah

⁷“^(AX)Hear, My people, and I will speak;
Israel, I will testify ^[q]against you;
I am God, ^(AY)your God.
⁸I do ^(AZ)not rebuke you for your sacrifices,
And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
⁹I will not take a ^(BA)bull from your house,
Nor male goats from your folds.
¹⁰For ^(BB)every animal of the forest is Mine,
The cattle on a thousand hills.
¹¹I know every ^(BC)bird of the mountains,
And everything that moves in the field is ^[r]Mine.
¹²If I were hungry I would not tell you,
For the ^(BD)world is Mine, and ^[s]everything it contains.
¹³Shall I eat the flesh of ^[t]^(BE)bulls
Or drink the blood of male goats?
¹⁴Offer God ^(BF)a sacrifice of thanksgiving
And ^(BG)pay your vows to the Most High;
¹⁵^(BH)Call upon Me on the day of trouble;
I will ^(BI)rescue you, and you will ^(BJ)honor Me.”

¹⁶But to the wicked God says,
“What right do you have to tell of My statutes
And to take ^(BK)My covenant in your mouth?
¹⁷For you yourself ^(BL)hate discipline,
And you ^(BM)throw My words behind you.
¹⁸When you see a thief, you ^(BN)become friends with him,
And ^[u]you ^(BO)associate with adulterers.
¹⁹You ^[v]^(BP)let your mouth loose in evil,
And your ^(BQ)tongue harnesses deceit.
²⁰You sit and ^(BR)speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
²¹These things you have done and ^(BS)I kept silent;
You thought that I was just like you;
I will ^(BT)rebuke you and present the case before your eyes.

²²“Now consider this, you who ^(BU)forget God,
Or I will ^(BV)tear you in pieces, and there will be no one to save you.
²³He who ^(BW)offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me;
And to him who ^(BX)sets his way properly
I will ^(BY)show the salvation of God.”

A Contrite Sinner’s Prayer for Pardon.

For the music director. A Psalm of David, when ^[w]Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

51 ^(BZ)Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithfulness;
According to the greatness of ^(CA)Your compassion, ^(CB)wipe out my wrongdoings.
²^(CC)Wash me thoroughly from my guilt
And ^(CD)cleanse me from my sin.
³For I ^(CE)know my wrongdoings,
And my sin is constantly before me.
⁴^(CF)Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is ^(CG)evil in Your sight,
So that ^(CH)You ^[x]are justified ^[y]when You speak
And ^[z]blameless when You judge.

⁵Behold, I was ^(CI)brought forth in guilt,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
⁶Behold, You desire ^(CJ)truth in the ^[aa]innermost being,
And in secret You will ^(CK)make wisdom known to me.
⁷^[ab]Purify me ^(CL)with hyssop, and I will be clean;
^[ac]Cleanse me, and I will be ^(CM)whiter than snow.
⁸^[ad]Let me hear ^(CN)joy and gladness,
Let the ^(CO)bones You have broken rejoice.
⁹^(CP)Hide Your face from my sins
And wipe out all my guilty deeds.

¹⁰^(CQ)Create ^[ae]in me a ^(CR)clean heart, God,
And renew a ^(CS)steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹^(CT)Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your ^(CU)Holy Spirit from me.
¹²Restore to me the ^(CV)joy of Your salvation,
And sustain me with a ^(CW)willing spirit.
¹³Then I will ^(CX)teach wrongdoers Your ways,
And sinners will ^[af]be ^(CY)converted to You.

¹⁴Save me from ^(CZ)the guilt of bloodshed, God, ^(DA)the God of my salvation;
Then my ^(DB)tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
¹⁵Lord, ^[ag]^(DC)open my lips,
So that my mouth may ^(DD)declare Your praise.
¹⁶For You ^(DE)do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You do not take pleasure in burnt offering.
¹⁷The sacrifices of God are a ^(DF)broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, God, You will not despise.

¹⁸^(DG)By Your favor do good to Zion;
^[ah]^(DH)Build the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹Then You will delight in ^[ai]^(DI)righteous sacrifices,
In ^(DJ)burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then ^[aj]bulls will be offered on Your altar.

Futility of Boastful Wickedness.

For the music director. A ^[ak]Maskil of David, ^[al]when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”

52 Why do you ^(DK)boast in evil, you mighty man?
The ^(DL)faithfulness of God endures all day long.
²Your tongue devises ^(DM)destruction,
Like a ^(DN)sharp razor, ^(DO)you worker of deceit.
³You ^(DP)love evil more than good,
^(DQ)Lies more than speaking what is right. Selah
⁴You love all words that devour,
You ^(DR)deceitful tongue.

⁵^[am]But God will break you down forever;
He will snatch you up and ^(DS)tear you away from your tent,
And ^(DT)uproot you from the ^(DU)land of the living. Selah
⁶The righteous will ^(DV)see and fear,
And they will ^(DW)laugh at him, saying,
⁷“Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge,
But ^(DX)trusted in the abundance of his riches
And ^(DY)was strong in ^[an]his evil desire.”

⁸But as for me, I am like a ^(DZ)green olive tree in the house of God;
I ^(EA)trust in the faithfulness of God forever and ever.
⁹I will ^(EB)praise You forever, because You have done it,
And I will wait on Your name, ^(EC)for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.

Foolishness and Wickedness of People.

For the music director; according to ^[ao]Mahalath. A ^[ap]Maskil of David.

53 ^(ED)The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice;
^(EE)There is no one who does good.
²God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of mankind
To see if there is ^(EF)anyone who ^[aq]understands,
Who ^(EG)seeks after God.
³^(EH)Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.

⁴Have the workers of injustice ^(EI)no knowledge,
Who eat up My people like they ate bread,
And have not called upon God?
⁵They were in great ^[ar]fear there, ^(EJ)where no ^[as]fear had been;
For God ^(EK)scattered the bones of ^[at]him who encamped against you;
You ^(EL)put them to shame, because ^(EM)God had rejected them.
⁶Oh, that ^(EN)the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of His people,
Jacob shall rejoice, Israel shall be glad.

Prayer for Defense against Enemies.

For the music director; on stringed instruments. A ^[au]Maskil of David, ^[av]when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Is David not keeping himself hidden among us?”

54 Save me, God, by ^(EO)Your name,
And ^[aw]vindicate me by ^(EP)Your power.
²^(EQ)Hear my prayer, God;
^(ER)Listen to the words of my mouth.
³For strangers have ^(ES)risen against me
And ^(ET)violent men have ^(EU)sought my ^[ax]life;
They have ^(EV)not set God before them. Selah

⁴Behold, ^(EW)God is my helper;
The Lord is ^[ay]the ^(EX)sustainer of my soul.
⁵^[az]He will ^(EY)pay back the evil to my enemies;
^[ba]^(EZ)Destroy them ^(FA)in Your ^[bb]faithfulness.

⁶^[bc]^(FB)Willingly I will sacrifice to You;
I will ^(FC)praise Your name, Lord, for it is good.
⁷For ^[bd]He has ^(FD)saved me from all ^[be]trouble,
And my eye has ^(FE)looked with satisfaction upon my enemies.