Psalms 49
49
Confidence in God Rather than in Riches
1For the leader. A psalm of the Korahites.#Korahites: see note on Ps 42:1.
2Hear this, all you peoples!
Give ear, all who inhabit the world,
3You of lowly birth or high estate,
rich and poor together.
4My mouth shall speak words of wisdom,
my heart shall offer insights.#Ps 78:2; Mt 13:35.
5I will turn my ear to a riddle,#Riddle: the psalmist’s personal solution to the perennial biblical problem of the prosperity of the wicked. Question: parallel in meaning to problem; in wisdom literature it means the mysterious way of how the world works.
expound my question on a lyre.
I
6Why should I fear in evil days,
with the iniquity of my assailants surrounding me,
7Of those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their abundant riches?#Jb 31:24.
8#No man can ransom even a brother: an axiom. For the practice of redemption, cf. Jb 6:21–23. A play on the first Hebrew word of Ps 49:8, 16 relates the two verses.No man can ransom even a brother,
or pay to God his own ransom.#Prv 10:15; 11:4; Ez 7:19; Mt 16:26.
9The redemption of his soul is costly;
and he will pass away forever.
10Will he live on forever, then,
and never see the Pit of Corruption?
11Indeed, he will see that the wise die,
and the fool will perish together with the senseless,#Eccl 2:16.
and they leave their wealth to others.#Ps 39:7; Sir 11:18–19.
12Their tombs are their homes forever,
their dwellings through all generations,
“They named countries after themselves”
13—but man does not abide in splendor.
He is like the beasts—they perish.#Eccl 3:18–21.
II
14This is the way of those who trust in themselves,
and the end of those who take pleasure in their own mouth.
Selah
15Like a herd of sheep they will be put into Sheol,
and Death will shepherd them.
Straight to the grave they descend,
where their form will waste away,
Sheol will be their palace.
16But God will redeem my life,
will take me#Will take me: the same Hebrew verb is used of God “taking up” a favored servant: Enoch in Gn 5:24; Elijah in 2 Kgs 2:11–12; the righteous person in Ps 73:24. The verse apparently states the hope that God will rescue the faithful psalmist in the same manner. from the hand of Sheol.#Ps 16:10; 86:13; 103:4; 116:8.
Selah
17Do not fear when a man becomes rich,
when the wealth of his house grows great.
18At his death he will not take along anything,
his glory will not go down after him.#Sir 11:18–19; Eccl 5:15; 1 Tm 6:7.
19During his life his soul uttered blessings;
“They will praise you, for you do well for yourself.”
20But he will join the company of his fathers,
never again to see the light.#Jb 10:21–22.
21In his prime, man does not understand.
He is like the beasts—they perish.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Psalms 49
49
Psalm 49
For the choir director; a psalm by Korah’s descendants.
1Listen to this, all you people.
Open your ears, all who live in the world—
2common people and important ones,
rich people and poor ones.
3My mouth will speak wise sayings,
the insights I have carefully considered.
4I will turn my attention to a proverb.
I will explain my riddle with the ⌞music of⌟ a lyre.
5Why should I be afraid in times of trouble,
when slanderers surround me with evil?
6They trust their riches
and brag about their abundant wealth.
7No one can ever buy back another person
or pay God a ransom for his life.
8The price to be paid for his soul is too costly.
He must always give up
9in order to live forever and never see the pit.
10Indeed, one can see that wise people die,
that foolish and stupid people meet the same end.
They leave their riches to others.
11Although they named their lands after themselves,
their graves #49:11 Greek, Syriac, Targum; Masoretic Text “their insides.” have become their homes for ages to come,
their dwelling places throughout every generation.
12But mortals will not continue here with what they treasure.
They are like animals that die.
13This is the final outcome for fools and their followers
who are delighted by what they say: Selah
14Like sheep, they are driven to hell
with death as their shepherd.
(Decent people will rule them in the morning.)
Their forms will decay in the grave,
far away from their comfortable homes.
15But God will buy me back from the power of hell
because he will take me. Selah
16Do not be afraid when someone becomes rich,
when the greatness of his house increases.
17He will not take anything with him when he dies.
His greatness cannot follow him.
18Even though he blesses himself while he is alive
(and they praise you when you do well for yourself),
19he must join the generation of his ancestors,
who will never see light ⌞again⌟.
20Mortals, with what they treasure, still don’t have understanding.
They are like animals that die.
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