Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 49:1

"Hear this, all ye peoples; Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world," — Psalms 49:1 (ASV)

Hear this, all ye people - That is, what I am about to utter is worthy of universal attention; it pertains equally to all mankind. The psalmist, therefore, calls on all the nations to attend to what he is about to say. Compare the notes at (Isaiah 1:2).

Give ear - Incline your ear; attend. Compare the notes at (Psalms 17:6). See also (Isaiah 37:17); (Isaiah 55:3); (Daniel 9:18); (Proverbs 2:2).

All ye inhabitants of the world - The truth to be declared does not pertain exclusively to any one nation, or any one class of people. All are interested in it. The term here rendered “world” - חלד cheled — means properly “duration of life, lifetime;” then, “life, time, age;” and then it comes to denote the world, considered as made up of the living, or the passing generations.