Psalms 49
1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all inhabitants of the world,
To the Overseer. — By sons of Korah. A Psalm. Hear this, all ye peoples, Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world.
2 both low and high, rich and poor alike.
Both low and high, together rich and needy.
3 My mouth will impart wisdom, and the meditation of my heart will bring understanding.
My mouth speaketh wise things, And the meditations of my heart [are] things of understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle with the harp:
I incline to a simile mine ear, I open with a harp my riddle:
5 Why should I fear in times of trouble, when wicked usurpers surround me?
Why do I fear in days of evil? The iniquity of my supplanters doth compass me.
6 They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.
Those trusting on their wealth, And in the multitude of their riches, Do shew themselves foolish.
7 No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God.
A brother doth no one at all ransom, He doth not give to God his atonement.
8 For the redemption of his soul is costly, and never can payment suffice,
And precious [is] the redemption of their soul, And it hath ceased — to the age.
9 that he should live on forever and not see decay.
And still he liveth for ever, He seeth not the pit.
10 For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others.
For he seeth wise men die, Together the foolish and brutish perish, And have left to others their wealth.
11 Their graves are their eternal homes— their dwellings for endless generations— even though their lands were their namesakes.
Their heart [is]: Their houses [are] to the age, Their tabernacles to all generations. They proclaimed their names over the lands.
12 But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish.
And man in honour doth not remain, He hath been like the beasts, they have been cut off.
13 This is the fate of the self-confident and their followers who endorse their sayings.
This their way [is] folly for them, And their posterity with their sayings are pleased. (Selah)
14 Like sheep they are destined for Sheol. Death will be their shepherd. The upright will rule them in the morning, and their form will decay in Sheol, far from their lofty abode. (Sheol h7585)
As sheep for Sheol they have set themselves, Death doth afflict them, And the upright rule over them in the morning, And their form [is] for consumption. Sheol [is] a dwelling for him. (Sheol h7585)
Only, God doth ransom my soul from the hand of Sheol, For He doth receive me. (Selah) (Sheol h7585)
16 Do not be amazed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases.
Fear not, when one maketh wealth, When the honour of his house is abundant,
17 For when he dies, he will carry nothing away; his abundance will not follow him down.
For at his death he receiveth nothing, His honour goeth not down after him.
18 Though in his lifetime he blesses his soul— and men praise you when you prosper—
For his soul in his life he blesseth, (And they praise thee when thou dost well for thyself.)
19 he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light of day.
It cometh to the generation of his fathers, For ever they see not the light.
20 A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish.
Man in honour, who understandest not, Hath been like the beasts, they have been cut off!
