Psalm 49
New King James Version
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 [a]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 (A)trust in their wealth
And boast in the multitude of their riches,
7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
Nor (B)give to God a ransom for him—
8 For (C)the redemption of their souls is costly,
And it shall cease forever—
9 That he should continue to live eternally,
And (D)not [b]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 [c]Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever,
Their dwelling places to all generations;
They (E)call their lands after their own names.
12 Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not [d]remain;
He is like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the way of those who are (F)foolish,
And of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah
14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave;
Death shall feed on them;
(G)The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;
(H)And their beauty shall be consumed in [e]the grave, far from their dwelling.
15 But God (I)will redeem my soul from the power of [f]the grave,
For He shall (J)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 (K)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 (L)light.[g]
20 A man who is in honor, yet does not understand,
(M)Is like the beasts that perish.
Footnotes
- 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
Psalm 49
New American Standard Bible 1995
The Folly of Trusting in Riches.
For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
49 (A)Hear this, all peoples;
Give ear, all (B)inhabitants of the world,
2 Both (C)low and high,
Rich and poor together.
3 My mouth will (D)speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart will be (E)understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to (F)a proverb;
(G)I will [a]express my (H)riddle on the harp.
5 Why should I (I)fear in days of adversity,
When the iniquity of my [b]foes surrounds me,
6 Even those who (J)trust in their wealth
And boast in the abundance of their riches?
7 No man can by any means (K)redeem his brother
Or give to God a (L)ransom for him—
8 For (M)the redemption of [c]his soul is costly,
And he should cease trying forever—
9 That he should (N)live on eternally,
That he should not [d](O)undergo decay.
10 For he sees that even (P)wise men die;
The (Q)stupid and the senseless alike perish
And (R)leave their wealth to others.
11 Their [e](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.
12 But (V)man in his [f]pomp will not endure;
He is like the [g]beasts that [h]perish.
13 This is the (W)way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who (X)approve their words. [i]Selah.
14 As sheep they are appointed (Y)for [j]Sheol;
Death shall be their shepherd;
And the (Z)upright shall rule over them in the morning,
And their form shall be for [k]Sheol (AA)to consume
[l]So that they have no habitation.
15 But God will (AB)redeem my soul from the [m]power of [n]Sheol,
For (AC)He will receive me. Selah.
16 Do not be afraid (AD)when a man becomes rich,
When the [o]glory of his house is increased;
17 For when he dies he will (AE)carry nothing away;
His [p]glory will not descend after him.
18 Though while he lives he (AF)congratulates [q]himself—
And though men praise you when you do well for yourself—
19 [r]He shall (AG)go to the generation of his fathers;
They will never see (AH)the light.
20 (AI)Man in his [s]pomp, yet without understanding,
Is (AJ)like the [t]beasts that [u]perish.
Footnotes
- Psalm 49:4 Lit open up
- Psalm 49:5 Lit supplanters
- Psalm 49:8 Lit their
- Psalm 49:9 Or see corruption or the pit
- Psalm 49:11 Some versions read graves are their houses
- Psalm 49:12 Lit honor
- Psalm 49:12 Or animals
- Psalm 49:12 Lit are destroyed
- Psalm 49:13 Selah may mean: Pause, Crescendo or Musical interlude
- Psalm 49:14 I.e. the nether world
- Psalm 49:14 I.e. the nether world
- Psalm 49:14 Lit Away from his habitation
- Psalm 49:15 Lit hand
- Psalm 49:15 I.e. the nether world
- Psalm 49:16 Or wealth
- Psalm 49:17 Or wealth
- Psalm 49:18 Lit his soul
- Psalm 49:19 Lit You; or It
- Psalm 49:20 Lit honor
- Psalm 49:20 Or animals
- Psalm 49:20 Lit are destroyed
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
