Psalm 48-50

New American Standard Bible

The Beauty and Glory of Zion.

A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah.

48 ^(A)Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
In the ^(B)city of our God, His ^(C)holy mountain.
²^(D)Beautiful in elevation, ^(E)the joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion in the far north,
The ^(F)city of the great King.
³In its palaces,
God has made Himself known as a ^(G)stronghold.

⁴For, behold, the ^(H)kings arrived,
They passed by together.
⁵They saw it, then they were amazed;
They were ^(I)terrified, they fled in a hurry.
⁶^[a]Panic seized them there,
Anguish, as that of ^(J)a woman in childbirth.
⁷With the ^(K)east wind
You ^(L)smash the ^(M)ships of Tarshish.
⁸Just as we have heard, so have we seen
In the city of the Lord of armies, in the city of our God;
God will ^(N)establish her forever. Selah

⁹We have thought over ^(O)Your goodness, God,
In the midst of Your temple.
¹⁰As is Your ^(P)name, God,
So is Your ^(Q)praise to the ends of the earth;
Your ^(R)right hand is full of righteousness.
¹¹Mount ^(S)Zion shall be glad,
The ^(T)daughters of Judah shall rejoice
Because of Your judgments.
¹²Walk around Zion and encircle her;
Count her ^(U)towers;
¹³Consider her ^(V)ramparts;
Go through her palaces,
So that you may ^(W)tell of her to the next generation.
¹⁴For ^[b]such is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will ^(X)lead us ^[c]until death.

The Foolishness of Trusting in Riches.

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

49 ^(Y)Hear this, all peoples;
Listen, all ^(Z)inhabitants of the world,
²Both ^(AA)low and high,
Rich and poor together.
³My mouth will ^(AB)speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart will be ^(AC)understanding.
⁴I will incline my ear to ^(AD)a proverb;
^(AE)I will ^[d]express my ^(AF)riddle on the harp.

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

¹⁰For he sees that even ^(AN)wise people die;
The ^(AO)foolish and the stupid alike perish
And ^(AP)leave their wealth to others.
¹¹Their ^[g]^(AQ)inner thought is that their houses ^(AR)are forever
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have ^(AS)named their lands after their own names.
¹²But ^(AT)man in his splendor will not endure;
He is like the animals that ^[h]perish.

¹³This is the ^(AU)way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who ^(AV)approve their words. Selah
¹⁴Like sheep they sink down ^(AW)to ^[i]Sheol;
Death will be their shepherd;
And the ^(AX)upright will rule over them in the morning,
And their form shall be for ^[j]Sheol ^(AY)to consume
^[k]So that they have no lofty home.
¹⁵But God will ^(AZ)redeem my soul from the ^[l]power of ^[m]Sheol,
For ^(BA)He will receive me. Selah

¹⁶Do not be afraid ^(BB)when a person becomes rich,
When the splendor of his house is increased;
¹⁷For when he dies, he will ^(BC)take nothing with him;
His ^[n]wealth will not descend after him.
¹⁸Though while he lives he ^(BD)congratulates ^[o]himself—
And though people praise you when you do well for yourself—
¹⁹^[p]He will ^(BE)go to the generation of his fathers;
They will never see ^(BF)the light.
²⁰^(BG)Mankind in its splendor, yet without understanding,
Is ^(BH)like the animals that ^[q]perish.

God, the Judge of the Righteous and the Wicked.

A Psalm of ^[r]Asaph.

50 ^(BI)The Mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken
And summoned the earth, ^(BJ)from ^[s]the rising of the sun to its setting.
²Out of Zion, ^(BK)the perfection of beauty,
God ^(BL)has shone.
³May our God ^(BM)come and not keep silent;
^(BN)Fire devours before Him,
And a storm is violently ^(BO)raging around Him.
⁴He ^(BP)summons the heavens above,
And the earth, to judge His people:
⁵“Gather My ^(BQ)godly ones to Me,
Those who have made a ^(BR)covenant with Me by ^(BS)sacrifice.”
⁶And the ^(BT)heavens declare His righteousness,
For ^(BU)God Himself is judge. Selah

⁷“^(BV)Hear, My people, and I will speak;
Israel, I will testify ^[t]against you;
I am God, ^(BW)your God.
⁸I do ^(BX)not rebuke you for your sacrifices,
And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
⁹I will not take a ^(BY)bull from your house,
Nor male goats from your folds.
¹⁰For ^(BZ)every animal of the forest is Mine,
The cattle on a thousand hills.
¹¹I know every ^(CA)bird of the mountains,
And everything that moves in the field is ^[u]Mine.
¹²If I were hungry I would not tell you,
For the ^(CB)world is Mine, and ^[v]everything it contains.
¹³Shall I eat the flesh of ^[w]^(CC)bulls
Or drink the blood of male goats?
¹⁴Offer God ^(CD)a sacrifice of thanksgiving
And ^(CE)pay your vows to the Most High;
¹⁵^(CF)Call upon Me on the day of trouble;
I will ^(CG)rescue you, and you will ^(CH)honor Me.”

¹⁶But to the wicked God says,
“What right do you have to tell of My statutes
And to take ^(CI)My covenant in your mouth?
¹⁷For you yourself ^(CJ)hate discipline,
And you ^(CK)throw My words behind you.
¹⁸When you see a thief, you ^(CL)become friends with him,
And ^[x]you ^(CM)associate with adulterers.
¹⁹You ^[y]^(CN)let your mouth loose in evil,
And your ^(CO)tongue harnesses deceit.
²⁰You sit and ^(CP)speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
²¹These things you have done and ^(CQ)I kept silent;
You thought that I was just like you;
I will ^(CR)rebuke you and present the case before your eyes.

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