Psalm 47-49
New King James Version
Praise to God, the Ruler of the Earth
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
47 Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
2 For the Lord Most High is awesome;
He is a great (A)King over all the earth.
3 (B)He will subdue the peoples under us,
And the nations under our feet.
4 He will choose our (C)inheritance for us,
The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah
5 (D)God has gone up with a shout,
The Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 (E)For God is the King of all the earth;
(F)Sing praises with understanding.
8 (G)God reigns over the nations;
God (H)sits on His (I)holy throne.
9 The princes of the people have gathered together,
(J)The people of the God of Abraham.
(K)For the shields of the earth belong to God;
He is greatly exalted.
The Glory of God in Zion
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
48 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
In the (L)city of our God,
In His holy mountain.
2 (M)Beautiful in [a]elevation,
The joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north,
The city of the great King.
3 God is in her palaces;
He is known as her refuge.
4 For behold, (N)the kings assembled,
They passed by together.
5 They saw it, and so they marveled;
They were troubled, they hastened away.
6 Fear (O)took hold of them there,
And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs,
7 As when You break the (P)ships of Tarshish
With an east wind.
8 As we have heard,
So we have seen
In the city of the Lord of hosts,
In the city of our God:
God will (Q)establish it forever. Selah
9 We have thought, O God, on (R)Your lovingkindness,
In the midst of Your temple.
10 According to (S)Your name, O God,
So is Your praise to the ends of the earth;
Your right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Let Mount Zion rejoice,
Let the daughters of Judah be glad,
Because of Your judgments.
12 Walk about Zion,
And go all around her.
Count her towers;
13 Mark well her bulwarks;
Consider her palaces;
That you may (T)tell it to the generation following.
14 For this is God,
Our God forever and ever;
(U)He will be our guide
[b]Even to death.
The Confidence of the Foolish
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
49 Hear this, all peoples;
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
2 Both low and high,
Rich and poor together.
3 My mouth shall speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will disclose my [c]dark saying on the harp.
5 Why should I fear in the days of evil,
When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?
6 Those who (V)trust in their wealth
And boast in the multitude of their riches,
7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
Nor (W)give to God a ransom for him—
8 For (X)the redemption of their souls is costly,
And it shall cease forever—
9 That he should continue to live eternally,
And (Y)not [d]see the Pit.
10 For he sees wise men die;
Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish,
And leave their wealth to others.
11 [e]Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever,
Their dwelling places to all generations;
They (Z)call their lands after their own names.
12 Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not [f]remain;
He is like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the way of those who are (AA)foolish,
And of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah
14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave;
Death shall feed on them;
(AB)The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;
(AC)And their beauty shall be consumed in [g]the grave, far from their dwelling.
15 But God (AD)will redeem my soul from the power of [h]the grave,
For He shall (AE)receive me. Selah
16 Do not be afraid when one becomes rich,
When the glory of his house is increased;
17 For when he dies he shall carry nothing away;
His glory shall not descend after him.
18 Though while he lives (AF)he blesses himself
(For men will praise you when you do well for yourself),
19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
They shall never see (AG)light.[i]
20 A man who is in honor, yet does not understand,
(AH)Is like the beasts that perish.
Footnotes
- Psalm 48:2 height
- Psalm 48:14 So with MT, Syr.; LXX, Vg. Forever
- Psalm 49:4 riddle
- Psalm 49:9 experience corruption
- Psalm 49:11 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. Their graves shall be their houses forever
- Psalm 49:12 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. understand (cf. v. 20)
- Psalm 49:14 Or Sheol
- Psalm 49:15 Or Sheol
- Psalm 49:19 The light of life
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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