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Psalms 49

Psalm 49

The Foolishness of Trusting in Riches.

¹Hear this, all peoples; Listen, all inhabitants of the world,

²Both low and high, Rich and poor together.

³My mouth will speak wisdom, And the meditation of my heart will be understanding.

⁴I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle on the harp.

⁵¶Why should I fear in days of adversity, When the injustice of those who betray me surrounds me,

⁶Those who trust in their wealth And boast in the abundance of their riches?

⁷No one can by any means redeem another Or give God a ransom for him—

⁸For the redemption of his soul is priceless, And he should cease imagining forever—

⁹That he might live on eternally, That he might not undergo decay.

¹⁰¶For he sees that even wise people die; The foolish and the stupid alike perish And leave their wealth to others.

¹¹Their inner thought is that their houses are forever And their dwelling places to all generations; They have named their lands after their own names.

¹²But man in his splendor will not endure; He is like the animals that perish.

¹³¶This is the way of those who are foolish, And of those after them who approve their words. Selah

¹⁴Like sheep they sink down to Sheol; Death will be their shepherd; And the upright will rule over them in the morning, And their form shall be for Sheol to consume So that they have no lofty home.

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

¹⁶¶Do not be afraid when a person becomes rich, When the splendor of his house is increased;

¹⁷For when he dies, he will take nothing with him; His wealth will not descend after him.

¹⁸Though while he lives he congratulates himself— And though people praise you when you do well for yourself—

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

²⁰Mankind in its splendor, yet without understanding, Is like the animals that perish.

Psalms 49 (NASB)

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Psalms

Chapter 49

49 of 150