Psalms 49 / 150
- 1Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world,
- 2both low and high, rich and poor alike:
- 3My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the utterance from my heart will give understanding.
- 4I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp I will expound my riddle:
- 5Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me-
- 6those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches?
- 7No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him-
- 8the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough-
- 9that he should live on forever and not see decay.
- 10For all can see that wise men die; the foolish and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others.
- 11Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves.
- 12But man, despite his riches, does not endure; he is like the beasts that perish.
- 13This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. Selah
- 14Like sheep they are destined for the grave, and death will feed on them. The upright will rule over them in the morning; their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions.
- 15But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself. Selah
- 16Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases;
- 17for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not descend with him.
- 18Though while he lived he counted himself blessed- and men praise you when you prosper-
- 19he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light of life .
- 20A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish.