Psalms 49
1 You people of all ethnic groups, listen! You people all over the world,
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all inhabitants of the world,
2 important people and unimportant people, rich people and poor people, everyone, [listen to what I am saying],
both low and high, rich and poor alike.
3 [because] what I am thinking is very sensible, and what I say will enable you to become wise!
My mouth will impart wisdom, and the meditation of my heart will bring understanding.
4 I think about [MTY] (proverbs/wise sayings), and while I play my harp, I explain what they mean.
I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle with the harp:
5 I am not [RHQ] afraid when I am in trouble/danger, when I am surrounded by my enemies,
Why should I fear in times of trouble, when wicked usurpers surround me?
6 by evil men who trust that [things will always go well for them because] they are wealthy, and who boast about being very rich.
They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.
7 [They may be rich], but no one can pay money with the result that he would live forever! No one can pay God enough so that God will allow him [to continue] to live,
No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God.
8 because that cost is too great, and he will never be able to pay enough
For the redemption of his soul is costly, and never can payment suffice,
9 with the result that he will live forever and never [die and] be buried!
that he should live on forever and not see decay.
10 We see that foolish and stupid people die, but we see that wise people also die; they all leave their wealth, and others inherit it.
For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others.
11 Those wise people once had [houses on] land that they owned, [but now] their graves are their homes forever, the place where they will stay for all time!
Their graves are their eternal homes— their dwellings for endless generations— even though their lands were their namesakes.
12 Even if people are great, that cannot prevent them from dying; all people die, the same as animals do.
But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish.
13 That is what happens to those who foolishly trust [in what they have accomplished], to those who are delighted in [all] that they possess.
This is the fate of the self-confident and their followers who endorse their sayings.
14 They are certain to die just like sheep, when a shepherd leads them away to be slaughtered. [PRS, MET] In the morning righteous people will rule over them, and then [those wealthy people will die and] their bodies will quickly decay in their graves; they will be where dead people are, far from their homes. (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 it is certain that God will rescue me so that I am not kept in the place of the dead. (Sheol h7585)
But God will redeem my life from Sheol, for He will surely take me to Himself. (Sheol h7585)
16 [So], do not be dismayed when someone becomes rich and the houses where they live become more and more luxurious,
Do not be amazed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases.
17 because when he dies, he will take nothing with him; his wealth will not go with him.
For when he dies, he will carry nothing away; his abundance will not follow him down.
18 While [a rich person] is alive, he congratulates himself, and people praise him for being successful,
Though in his lifetime he blesses his soul— and men praise you when you prosper—
19 but he will [die], joining his ancestors, who will never see daylight again.
he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light of day.
20 Even if someone is great, that cannot prevent him from dying; he will die, the same as animals do.
A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish.
