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Psalm 49
New King James Version
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
Amplified Bible
Psalm 49
Amplified Bible
The Folly of Trusting in Riches.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
49 Hear this, all peoples;
Listen carefully, all inhabitants of the world,
2
Both low and high,
Rich and poor together:
3
My mouth will speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart will be understanding.
4
I will incline my ear and consent to a proverb;
On the lyre I will unfold my riddle.
5
Why should I fear in the days of evil,
When the wickedness of those who would betray me surrounds me [on every side],
6
Even those who trust in and rely on their wealth
And boast of the abundance of their riches?
7
None of them can by any means redeem [either himself or] his brother,
Nor give to God a ransom for him—
8
For the ransom of his soul is too costly,
And he should cease trying forever—
9
So that he should live on eternally,
That he should never see the pit (grave) and undergo decay.
10
For he sees that even wise men die;
The fool and the stupid alike perish
And leave their wealth to others.(A)
11
Their inward thought is that their houses will continue forever,
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have named their lands after their own names [ignoring God].
12
But man, with all his [self] honor and pomp, will not endure;
He is like the beasts that perish.
13
This is the fate of those who are foolishly confident,
And of those after them who approve [and are influenced by] their words. Selah.
14
Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead);
Death will be their shepherd;
And the upright shall rule over them in the morning,
And their form and beauty shall [a]be for Sheol to consume,
So that they have no dwelling [on earth].
15
But God will redeem my life from the power of Sheol,
For He will receive me. Selah.
16
Be not afraid when [an ungodly] man becomes rich,
When the wealth and glory of his house are increased;
17
For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
His glory will not descend after him.
18
Though while he lives he counts himself happy and prosperous—
And though people praise you when you do well for yourself—
19
He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
They shall never again see the light.
20
A man [who is held] in honor,
Yet who lacks [spiritual] understanding and a teachable heart, is like the beasts that perish.
Footnotes
- Psalm 49:14 The ancient rabbis read this as “will wear out Sheol,” which also matches the Hebrew, and interpreted it as referring to unending punishment, i.e. punishment even outlasting Gehinnom (hell).
Psalm 49
New International Version
Psalm 49
New International Version
Psalm 49[a]
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1 Hear(A) this, all you peoples;(B)
listen, all who live in this world,(C)
2 both low and high,(D)
rich and poor alike:
3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom;(E)
the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.(F)
4 I will turn my ear to a proverb;(G)
with the harp(H) I will expound my riddle:(I)
5 Why should I fear(J) when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me—
6 those who trust in their wealth(K)
and boast(L) of their great riches?(M)
7 No one can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for them—
8 the ransom(N) for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough—(O)
9 so that they should live on(P) forever
and not see decay.(Q)
10 For all can see that the wise die,(R)
that the foolish and the senseless(S) also perish,
leaving their wealth(T) to others.(U)
11 Their tombs(V) will remain their houses[b] forever,
their dwellings for endless generations,(W)
though they had[c] named(X) lands after themselves.
13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,(AA)
and of their followers, who approve their sayings.[d]
14 They are like sheep and are destined(AB) to die;(AC)
death will be their shepherd
(but the upright will prevail(AD) over them in the morning).
Their forms will decay in the grave,
far from their princely mansions.
15 But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;(AE)
he will surely take me to himself.(AF)
16 Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
when the splendor of their houses increases;
17 for they will take nothing(AG) with them when they die,
their splendor will not descend with them.(AH)
18 Though while they live they count themselves blessed—(AI)
and people praise you when you prosper—
19 they will join those who have gone before them,(AJ)
who will never again see the light(AK) of life.
Footnotes
- Psalm 49:1 In Hebrew texts 49:1-20 is numbered 49:2-21.
- Psalm 49:11 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew In their thoughts their houses will remain
- Psalm 49:11 Or generations, / for they have
- Psalm 49:13 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 15.
Psalm 49
King James Version
Psalm 49
King James Version
49 Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:
2 Both low and high, rich and poor, together.
3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
4 I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?
6 They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:
8 (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)
9 That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.
10 For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.
12 Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.
13 This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.
14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.
15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.
16 Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;
17 For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.
18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.
19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.
20 Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Amplified Bible (AMP) 
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.