Psalms 49

The folly of trusting in riches.

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

¹Hear this, all ye peoples; Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world,

²Both low and high, Rich and poor together.

³My mouth shall speak wisdom; And the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

⁴I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

⁵Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, When iniquity at my heels compasseth me about?

⁶They that trust in their wealth, And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;

⁷None [of them] can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him;

⁸(For the redemption of their life is costly, And it faileth for ever;)

⁹That he should still live alway, That he should not see corruption.

¹⁰For he shall see it. Wise men die; The fool and the brutish alike perish, And leave their wealth to others.

¹¹Their 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.

¹²But man [being] in honor abideth not: He is like the beasts that perish.

¹³This their way is their folly: Yet after them men approve their sayings. Selah

¹⁴They are appointed as a flock for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; And their beauty shall be for Sheol to consume, That there be no habitation for it.

¹⁵But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol; For he will receive me. Selah

¹⁶Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, When the glory of his house is increased.

¹⁷For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away; His glory shall not descend after him.

¹⁸Though while he lived he blessed his soul (And men praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself,)

¹⁹He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see the light.

²⁰Man that is in honor, and understandeth not, Is like the beasts that perish.

Psalms 49 (ASV)

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Psalms

Chapter 49

49 of 150