Psalm 49

Complete Jewish Bible

49 ⁽⁰⁾For the leader. A psalm of the descendants of Korach:

²⁽¹⁾Hear this, all you peoples!
Listen, everyone living on earth,
³⁽²⁾regardless of whether low or high,
regardless of whether rich or poor!
⁴⁽³⁾My mouth is about to speak wisdom;
my heart’s deepest thoughts will give understanding.
⁵⁽⁴⁾I will listen with care to [God’s] parable,
I will set my enigma to the music of the lyre.

⁶⁽⁵⁾Why should I fear when the days bring trouble,
when the evil of my pursuers surrounds me,
⁷⁽⁶⁾the evil of those who rely on their wealth
and boast how rich they are?
⁸⁽⁷⁾No one can ever redeem his brother
or give God a ransom for him ,
⁹⁽⁸⁾because the price for him is too high
(leave the idea completely alone!)
¹⁰⁽⁹⁾to have him live on eternally
and never see the pit.
¹¹⁽¹⁰⁾For he can see that wise men will die,
likewise the fool and the brute will perish
and leave their wealth to others.
¹²⁽¹¹⁾They think their homes will last forever,
their dwellings through all generations;
they give their own names to their estates.
¹³⁽¹²⁾But people, even rich ones, will live only briefly;
then, like animals, they will die.
¹⁴⁽¹³⁾This is the manner of life of the foolish
and those who come after, approving their words. (Selah)
¹⁵⁽¹⁴⁾Like sheep, they are destined for Sh’ol;
death will be their shepherd.
The upright will rule them in the morning;
and their forms will waste away in Sh’ol,
until they need no dwelling.
¹⁶⁽¹⁵⁾But God will redeem me from Sh’ol’s control,
because he will receive me. (Selah)

¹⁷⁽¹⁶⁾Don’t be afraid when someone gets rich,
when the wealth of his family grows.
¹⁸⁽¹⁷⁾For when he dies, he won’t take it with him;
his wealth will not go down after him.
¹⁹⁽¹⁸⁾True, while he lived, he thought himself happy —
people praise you when you do well for yourself —
²⁰⁽¹⁹⁾but he will join his ancestors’ generations
and never again see light.
²¹⁽²⁰⁾People, even rich ones, can fail to grasp
that, like animals, they will die.