Psalm 47-49

New American Standard Bible

God, the King of the Earth.

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

47 ^(A)Clap your hands, all you peoples;
^(B)Shout to God with a voice of joy.
²For the Lord Most High is to be ^(C)feared,
A ^(D)great King over all the earth.
³He ^(E)subdues peoples under us
And nations under our feet.
⁴He chooses our ^(F)inheritance for us,
The ^(G)pride of Jacob whom He loves. Selah

⁵God has ^(H)ascended ^[a]with a shout,
The Lord, ^[b]with the ^(I)sound of a trumpet.
⁶^(J)Sing praises to God, sing praises;
Sing praises to ^(K)our King, sing praises.
⁷For God is the ^(L)King of all the earth;
Sing praises ^(M)with a psalm of wisdom.
⁸God ^(N)reigns over the nations,
God ^[c]sits on ^(O)His holy throne.
⁹The ^[d]^(P)princes of the people have assembled as the ^(Q)people of the God of Abraham,
For the ^(R)shields of the earth belong to God;
He is ^(S)highly exalted.

The Beauty and Glory of Zion.

A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah.

48 ^(T)Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
In the ^(U)city of our God, His ^(V)holy mountain.
²^(W)Beautiful in elevation, ^(X)the joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion in the far north,
The ^(Y)city of the great King.
³In its palaces,
God has made Himself known as a ^(Z)stronghold.

⁴For, behold, the ^(AA)kings arrived,
They passed by together.
⁵They saw it, then they were amazed;
They were ^(AB)terrified, they fled in a hurry.
⁶^[e]Panic seized them there,
Anguish, as that of ^(AC)a woman in childbirth.
⁷With the ^(AD)east wind
You ^(AE)smash the ^(AF)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 ^(AG)establish her forever. Selah

⁹We have thought over ^(AH)Your goodness, God,
In the midst of Your temple.
¹⁰As is Your ^(AI)name, God,
So is Your ^(AJ)praise to the ends of the earth;
Your ^(AK)right hand is full of righteousness.
¹¹Mount ^(AL)Zion shall be glad,
The ^(AM)daughters of Judah shall rejoice
Because of Your judgments.
¹²Walk around Zion and encircle her;
Count her ^(AN)towers;
¹³Consider her ^(AO)ramparts;
Go through her palaces,
So that you may ^(AP)tell of her to the next generation.
¹⁴For ^[f]such is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will ^(AQ)lead us ^[g]until death.

The Foolishness of Trusting in Riches.

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

49 ^(AR)Hear this, all peoples;
Listen, all ^(AS)inhabitants of the world,
²Both ^(AT)low and high,
Rich and poor together.
³My mouth will ^(AU)speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart will be ^(AV)understanding.
⁴I will incline my ear to ^(AW)a proverb;
^(AX)I will ^[h]express my ^(AY)riddle on the harp.

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

¹⁰For he sees that even ^(BG)wise people die;
The ^(BH)foolish and the stupid alike perish
And ^(BI)leave their wealth to others.
¹¹Their ^[k]^(BJ)inner thought is that their houses ^(BK)are forever
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have ^(BL)named their lands after their own names.
¹²But ^(BM)man in his splendor will not endure;
He is like the animals that ^[l]perish.

¹³This is the ^(BN)way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who ^(BO)approve their words. Selah
¹⁴Like sheep they sink down ^(BP)to ^[m]Sheol;
Death will be their shepherd;
And the ^(BQ)upright will rule over them in the morning,
And their form shall be for ^[n]Sheol ^(BR)to consume
^[o]So that they have no lofty home.
¹⁵But God will ^(BS)redeem my soul from the ^[p]power of ^[q]Sheol,
For ^(BT)He will receive me. Selah

¹⁶Do not be afraid ^(BU)when a person becomes rich,
When the splendor of his house is increased;
¹⁷For when he dies, he will ^(BV)take nothing with him;
His ^[r]wealth will not descend after him.
¹⁸Though while he lives he ^(BW)congratulates ^[s]himself—
And though people praise you when you do well for yourself—
¹⁹^[t]He will ^(BX)go to the generation of his fathers;
They will never see ^(BY)the light.
²⁰^(BZ)Mankind in its splendor, yet without understanding,
Is ^(CA)like the animals that ^[u]perish.