Psalms 49
1 To the Chief Musician. For the Sons of Korah. A Melody. Hear ye, this all ye peoples, Give ear, all ye inhabitants of this passing world;
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all inhabitants of the world,
2 Both sons of the low, And sons of the high, —Together both rich and needy: —
both low and high, rich and poor alike.
3 My mouth, shall speak forth Wisdom, And the soft utterance of my heart be Understanding:
My mouth will impart wisdom, and the meditation of my heart will bring understanding.
4 I will bend, to a by-word, mine ear, I will open, on the lyre, mine enigma.
I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle with the harp:
5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of calamity, Though the iniquity of them who lie in wait for me should enclose me?
Why should I fear in times of trouble, when wicked usurpers surround me?
6 As for them who are trusting in their wealth, —And, in the abundance of their riches, do boast themselves,
They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.
7 A brother, can none of them, redeem, he cannot give unto God a ransom for himself:
No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God.
8 So costly, is the redemption of their soul, That it faileth unto times age-abiding;
For the redemption of his soul is costly, and never can payment suffice,
9 That he should, yet, live on, continually, Should not see corruption.
that he should live on forever and not see decay.
10 For it is seen that, the wise, die, Together with the dullard, and the brutish, do they perish, And leave, to others, their wealth:
For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their, inward thought, is that their houses are for times age-abiding, Their habitations, for generation after generation, —They give their own names unto lands!
Their graves are their eternal homes— their dwellings for endless generations— even though their lands were their namesakes.
12 But, a son of earth, though wealthy, cannot tarry, He hath made himself a by-word—Beasts, they resemble:
But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish.
13 This, their way, is a folly to them, And yet, their followers, with their mouth, approve. (Selah)
This is the fate of the self-confident and their followers who endorse their sayings.
14 Like sheep—into hades, are they driven, Death shall shepherd them, —And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning, Even their form, is to decay, Hades, is all that remaineth of a habitation for him. (Sheol h7585)
Like sheep they are destined for Sheol. Death will be their shepherd. The upright will rule them in the morning, and their form will decay in Sheol, far from their lofty abode. (Sheol h7585)
15 But, God, will redeem my soul, out of the hand of hades, For he will take me. (Selah) (Sheol h7585)
But God will redeem my life from Sheol, for He will surely take me to Himself. (Sheol h7585)
16 Do not fear, When a man becometh rich, When the glory of his house increaseth;
Do not be amazed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases.
17 For, when he dieth, he shall take, nothing, his glory shall not descend after him;
For when he dies, he will carry nothing away; his abundance will not follow him down.
18 For, though, his own self—while he lived, he used to bless, And they will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself,
Though in his lifetime he blesses his soul— and men praise you when you prosper—
19 He shall enter as far as the circle of his fathers, Nevermore, shall they see the light.
he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light of day.
20 A son of earth though wealthy, who discerneth not, Hath made himself a by-word, Beasts, they resemble.
A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish.
