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Psalm 49
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 49
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 49[a]
Confidence in God Rather than in Riches
1 For the leader. A psalm of the Korahites.[b]
2 Hear this, all you peoples!
Give ear, all who inhabit the world,
3 You of lowly birth or high estate,
rich and poor together.
4 My mouth shall speak words of wisdom,
my heart shall offer insights.(A)
5 I will turn my ear to a riddle,[c]
expound my question on a lyre.
I
6 Why should I fear in evil days,
with the iniquity of my assailants surrounding me,
7 Of those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their abundant riches?(B)
8 [d]No man can ransom even a brother,
or pay to God his own ransom.(C)
9 The redemption of his soul is costly;
and he will pass away forever.
10 Will he live on forever, then,
and never see the Pit of Corruption?
11 Indeed, he will see that the wise die,
and the fool will perish together with the senseless,(D)
and they leave their wealth to others.(E)
12 Their tombs are their homes forever,
their dwellings through all generations,
“They named countries after themselves”
13 —but man does not abide in splendor.
He is like the beasts—they perish.(F)
II
14 This is the way of those who trust in themselves,
and the end of those who take pleasure in their own mouth.
Selah
15 Like a herd of sheep they will be put into Sheol,
and Death will shepherd them.
Straight to the grave they descend,
where their form will waste away,
Sheol will be their palace.
16 But God will redeem my life,
will take me[e] from the hand of Sheol.(G)
Selah
17 Do not fear when a man becomes rich,
when the wealth of his house grows great.
18 At his death he will not take along anything,
his glory will not go down after him.(H)
19 During his life his soul uttered blessings;
“They will praise you, for you do well for yourself.”
20 But he will join the company of his fathers,
never again to see the light.(I)
21 In his prime, man does not understand.
He is like the beasts—they perish.
Footnotes
- Psalm 49 The Psalm affirms confidence in God (cf. Ps 23; 27:1–6; 62) in the face of the apparent good fortune of the unjust rich, cf. Ps 37; 73. Reliance on wealth is misplaced (Ps 49:8–10) for it is of no avail in the face of death (Ps 49:18–20). After inviting all to listen to this axiom of faith (Ps 49:2–5), the psalmist depicts the self-delusion of the ungodly (Ps 49:6–13), whose destiny is to die like ignorant beasts (Ps 49:13, 18; cf. Prv 7:21–23). Their wealth should occasion no alarm, for they will come to nought, whereas God will save the just (Ps 49:14–20).
- 49:1 Korahites: see note on Ps 42:1.
- 49:5 Riddle: the psalmist’s personal solution to the perennial biblical problem of the prosperity of the wicked. Question: parallel in meaning to problem; in wisdom literature it means the mysterious way of how the world works.
- 49:8 No man can ransom even a brother: an axiom. For the practice of redemption, cf. Jb 6:21–23. A play on the first Hebrew word of Ps 49:8, 16 relates the two verses.
- 49:16 Will take me: the same Hebrew verb is used of God “taking up” a favored servant: Enoch in Gn 5:24; Elijah in 2 Kgs 2:11–12; the righteous person in Ps 73:24. The verse apparently states the hope that God will rescue the faithful psalmist in the same manner.
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.
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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