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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Psalms 49: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc