Psalm 49-52 (New American Standard Bible)

Psalm 49

The Folly of Trusting in Riches.

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

    ^1(A)Hear this, all peoples;
         Give ear, 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 express my ^(H)riddle on the harp.
    ⁵Why should I ^(I)fear in days of adversity,
         When the iniquity of my foes surrounds me,
    ⁶Even those who ^(J)trust in their wealth
         And boast in the abundance of their riches?
    ⁷No man can by any means ^(K)redeem his brother
         Or give to God a ^(L)ransom for him--
    ⁸For ^(M)the redemption of his soul is costly,
         And he should cease trying forever--
    ⁹That he should ^(N)live on eternally,
         That he should not ^[a](O)undergo decay.
    ¹⁰For he sees that even ^(P)wise men die;
         The ^(Q)stupid and the senseless alike perish
         And ^(R)leave their wealth to others.
    ¹¹Their ^[b](S)inner thought is that their houses ^(T)are forever
         And their dwelling places to all generations;
         They have ^(U)called their lands after their own names.
    ¹²But ^(V)man in his pomp will not endure;
         He is like the beasts that perish.
    ¹³This is the ^(W)way of those who are foolish,
         And of those after them who ^(X)approve their words. Selah.
    ¹⁴As sheep they are appointed ^(Y)for Sheol;
         Death shall be their shepherd;
         And the ^(Z)upright shall rule over them in the morning,
         And their form shall be for Sheol ^(AA)to consume
         So that they have no habitation.
    ¹⁵But God will ^(AB)redeem my soul from the power of Sheol,
         For ^(AC)He will receive me. Selah.
    ¹⁶Do not be afraid ^(AD)when a man becomes rich,
         When the ^[c]glory of his house is increased;
    ¹⁷For when he dies he will ^(AE)carry nothing away;
         His ^[d]glory will not descend after him.
    ¹⁸Though while he lives he ^(AF)congratulates himself--
         And though men praise you when you do well for yourself--
    ¹⁹He shall ^(AG)go to the generation of his fathers;
         They will never see ^(AH)the light.
    ^20(AI)Man in his pomp, yet without understanding,
         Is ^(AJ)like the beasts that perish.

Psalm 50

God the Judge of the Righteous and the Wicked.

A Psalm of Asaph.

    ^1(AK)The Mighty One, God, the LORD, has spoken,
         And summoned the earth ^(AL)from the rising of the sun to its setting.
    ²Out of Zion, ^(AM)the perfection of beauty,
         God ^(AN)has shone forth.
    ³May our God ^(AO)come and not keep silence;
         ^(AP)Fire devours before Him,
         And it is very ^(AQ)tempestuous 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, O My people, and I will speak;
         O Israel, I will testify against you;
         I am God, ^(AY)your God.
    ⁸"I do ^(AZ)not reprove you for your sacrifices,
         And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
    ⁹"I shall take no ^(BA)young bull out of your house
         Nor male goats out of your folds.
    ¹⁰"For ^(BB)every beast of the forest is Mine,
         The cattle on a thousand hills.
    ¹¹"I know every ^(BC)bird of the mountains,
         And everything that moves in the field is ^[e]Mine.
    ¹²"If I were hungry I would not tell you,
         For the ^(BD)world is Mine, and all it contains.
    ¹³"Shall I eat the flesh of ^(BE)bulls
         Or drink the blood of male goats?
    ¹⁴"Offer to God ^(BF)a sacrifice of thanksgiving
         And ^(BG)pay your vows to the Most High;
    ^15(BH)Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
         I shall ^(BI)rescue you, and you will ^(BJ)honor Me."
    ¹⁶But to the wicked God says,
         "What right have you to tell of My statutes
         And to take ^(BK)My covenant in your mouth?
    ¹⁷"For you ^(BL)hate discipline,
         And you ^(BM)cast My words behind you.
    ¹⁸"When you see a thief, you ^(BN)are pleased with him,
         And you ^(BO)associate with adulterers.
    ¹⁹"You ^(BP)let your mouth loose in evil
         And your ^(BQ)tongue frames deceit.
    ²⁰"You sit and ^(BR)speak against your brother;
         You slander your own mother's son.
    ²¹"These things you have done and ^(BS)I kept silence;
         You thought that I was just like you;
         I will ^(BT)reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.
    ²²"Now consider this, you who ^(BU)forget God,
         Or I will ^(BV)tear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver.
    ²³"He who ^(BW)offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me;
         And to him who ^(BX)orders his way aright
         I shall ^(BY)show the salvation of God."

Psalm 51

A Contrite Sinner's Prayer for Pardon.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

    ^1(BZ)Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
         According to the greatness of ^(CA)Your compassion ^(CB)blot out my transgressions.
    ^2(CC)Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
         And ^(CD)cleanse me from my sin.
    ³For I ^(CE)know my transgressions,
         And my sin is ever before me.
    ^4(CF)Against You, You only, I have sinned
         And done what is ^(CG)evil in Your sight,
         So that ^(CH)You ^[f]are justified when You speak
         And blameless when You judge.
    ⁵Behold, I was ^(CI)brought forth in iniquity,
         And in sin my mother conceived me.
    ⁶Behold, You desire ^(CJ)truth in the innermost being,
         And in the hidden part You will ^(CK)make me know wisdom.
    ⁷Purify me ^(CL)with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
         Wash me, and I shall be ^(CM)whiter than snow.
    ⁸Make me to hear ^(CN)joy and gladness,
         Let the ^(CO)bones which You have broken rejoice.
    ^9(CP)Hide Your face from my sins
         And blot out all my iniquities.
    ^10(CQ)Create in me a ^(CR)clean heart, O 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 transgressors Your ways,
         And sinners will ^[g]be ^(CY)converted to You.
    ¹⁴Deliver me from ^(CZ)bloodguiltiness, O God, ^(DA)the God of my salvation;
         Then my ^(DB)tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
    ¹⁵O Lord, ^(DC)open my lips,
         That my mouth may ^(DD)declare Your praise.
    ¹⁶For You ^(DE)do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
         You are not pleased with burnt offering.
    ¹⁷The sacrifices of God are a ^(DF)broken spirit;
         A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
    ^18(DG)By Your favor do good to Zion;
         ^(DH)Build the walls of Jerusalem.
    ¹⁹Then You will delight in ^(DI)righteous sacrifices,
         In ^(DJ)burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
         Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.

Psalm 52

Futility of Boastful Wickedness.

For the choir director. A Maskil of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, "David has come to the house of Ahimelech."

    ¹Why do you ^(DK)boast in evil, O mighty man?
         The ^(DL)lovingkindness of God endures all day long.
    ²Your tongue devises ^(DM)destruction,
         Like a ^(DN)sharp razor, ^(DO)O worker of deceit.
    ³You ^(DP)love evil more than good,
         ^(DQ)Falsehood more than speaking what is right. Selah.
    ⁴You love all words that devour,
         O ^(DR)deceitful tongue.
    ⁵But 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 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 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 lovingkindness of God forever and ever.
    ⁹I will ^(EB)give You thanks 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.