Psalm 48-49

New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition

⁴ Then the kings assembled,
    they came on together.
⁵ As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;
    they were in panic, they took to flight;
⁶ trembling took hold of them there,
    pains as of a woman in labour,
⁷ as when an east wind shatters
    the ships of Tarshish.
⁸ As we have heard, so have we seen
    in the city of the Lord of hosts,
in the city of our God,
    which God establishes for ever.Selah

⁹ We ponder your steadfast love, O God,
    in the midst of your temple.
¹⁰ Your name, O God, like your praise,
    reaches to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with victory.
¹¹     Let Mount Zion be glad,
let the towns^[a] of Judah rejoice
    because of your judgements.

¹² Walk about Zion, go all around it,
    count its towers,
¹³ consider well its ramparts;
    go through its citadels,
that you may tell the next generation
¹⁴     that this is God,
our God for ever and ever.
    He will be our guide for ever.

⁵ Why should I fear in times of trouble,
    when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,
⁶ those who trust in their wealth
    and boast of the abundance of their riches?
⁷ Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life,^[b]
    there is no price one can give to God for it.
⁸ For the ransom of life is costly,
    and can never suffice,
⁹ that one should live on for ever
    and never see the grave.^[c]

¹⁰ When we look at the wise, they die;
    fool and dolt perish together
    and leave their wealth to others.
¹¹ Their graves^[d] are their homes for ever,
    their dwelling-places to all generations,
    though they named lands their own.
¹² Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
    they are like the animals that perish.

¹³ Such is the fate of the foolhardy,
    the end of those^[e] who are pleased with their lot.Selah
¹⁴ Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
    Death shall be their shepherd;
straight to the grave they descend,^[f]
    and their form shall waste away;
    Sheol shall be their home.^[g]
15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
    for he will receive me.Selah

¹⁶ Do not be afraid when some become rich,
    when the wealth of their houses increases.
¹⁷ For when they die they will carry nothing away;
    their wealth will not go down after them.
¹⁸ Though in their lifetime they count themselves happy
    —for you are praised when you do well for yourself—
¹⁹ they^[h] will go to the company of their ancestors,
    who will never again see the light.
²⁰ Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
    they are like the animals that perish.