Psalm 48-49

English Standard Version

Zion, the City of Our God

A Song. A Psalm of ^(A)the Sons of Korah.

48 ^(B)Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised
    in ^(C)the city of our God!
His ^(D)holy mountain, ²^(E)beautiful in elevation,
    is ^(F)the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north,
    ^(G)the city of the great King.
³Within her citadels God
    has made himself known as a fortress.

⁴For behold, ^(H)the kings assembled;
    they came on together.
⁵As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;
    they were in panic; they took to flight.
⁶^(I)Trembling took hold of them there,
    anguish ^(J)as of a woman in labor.
⁷By ^(K)the east wind you ^(L)shattered
    the ships of ^(M)Tarshish.
⁸As we have heard, so have we seen
    in the city of the Lord of hosts,
in ^(N)the city of our God,
    which God will ^(O)establish forever. Selah

⁹We have thought on your ^(P)steadfast love, O God,
    in the midst of your temple.
¹⁰As your ^(Q)name, O God,
    so your praise reaches to ^(R)the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
¹¹    Let Mount ^(S)Zion be glad!
Let ^(T)the daughters of Judah rejoice
    because of your judgments!

¹²Walk about Zion, go around her,
    number her towers,
¹³consider well her ^(U)ramparts,
    go through her citadels,
^(V)that you may tell the next generation
¹⁴    that this is God,
our God forever and ever.
    He will ^(W)guide us forever.^[a]

Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of ^(X)the Sons of Korah.

49 ^(Y)Hear this, all peoples!
    Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
²^(Z)both low and high,
    rich and poor together!
³My mouth shall speak ^(AA)wisdom;
    the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
⁴I will incline my ear to ^(AB)a proverb;
    I will solve my ^(AC)riddle to the music of the lyre.

⁵^(AD)Why should I fear in ^(AE)times of trouble,
    when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
⁶those who ^(AF)trust in their wealth
    and boast of the abundance of their riches?
⁷Truly no man ^(AG)can ransom another,
    or ^(AH)give to God ^(AI)the price of his life,
⁸for ^(AJ)the ransom of their life is costly
    and can never suffice,
⁹that he should live on forever
    and ^(AK)never see the pit.

¹⁰For he sees ^(AL)that even the wise die;
    ^(AM)the fool and the stupid alike must perish
    and ^(AN)leave their wealth to others.
¹¹Their ^(AO)graves are their homes forever,^[b]
    their dwelling places ^(AP)to all generations,
    though they ^(AQ)called lands by their own names.
¹²Man in his pomp ^(AR)will not remain;
    ^(AS)he is like the beasts that perish.

¹³This is the path of those who have ^(AT)foolish confidence;
    yet after them people approve of their boasts.^[c] Selah
¹⁴Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
    death shall be their shepherd,
and the upright ^(AU)shall rule over them in the morning.
    ^(AV)Their form shall be consumed ^(AW)in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
¹⁵But God will ^(AX)ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
    for he will ^(AY)receive me. Selah

¹⁶Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
    when the glory of his house increases.
¹⁷^(AZ)For when he dies he will ^(BA)carry nothing away;
    his glory will not go down after him.
¹⁸For though, while he lives, he counts himself ^(BB)blessed
    —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
¹⁹his soul will ^(BC)go to the generation of his fathers,
    who will never again ^(BD)see light.
²⁰^(BE)Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

Footnotes

Psalm 48:14 Septuagint; another reading is (compare Jerome, Syriac) He will guide us beyond death
Psalm 49:11 Septuagint, Syriac, Targum; Hebrew Their inward thought was that their homes were forever
Psalm 49:13 Or and of those after them who approve of their boasts