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Psalm 49:15-17
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 49:15-17
New Catholic Bible
15 Like sheep[a] they are destined for the netherworld,
with death as their shepherd.
They descend straight to the grave
where their bodies will waste away;
the netherworld will be their home.
16 But God will ransom me from the netherworld;
he will take me[b] to himself. Selah
17 [c]Do not be afraid when someone becomes rich
and the splendor of his house increases.
Footnotes
- Psalm 49:15 Like sheep: death has become their shepherd, leading them to the grave. They descend . . . waste away: an alternative text is: “The upright will rule over them in the morning, / and their bodies will waste away.” In the morning: the customary time for eschatological judgments and the triumph of the righteous (see Pss 17:15; 46:5; 101:8; Song 2:17; Isa 17:14).
- Psalm 49:16 Take me: this is the same Hebrew verb that is used for God “taking up” his favored servants: Enoch (see Gen 5:24), Elijah (see 2 Ki 2:11f), and the righteous person (see Ps 73:24). The psalmist thus harbors the hope that God will rescue the righteous from the grave in some way. This hope will become stronger in Israel, as later Books show (see 2 Mac 7:9f; 12:44f; 14:46; Wis 2:23; 3:9; 6:19; Dan 12:2).
- Psalm 49:17 Faith enables the godly to avoid fearing anything that is transitory. Riches, splendor, and praise (garnered from self or from others) make no difference in the grave. Although wealth can protect one from the rigors of life, it is powerless against death, a place of utter darkness without even a ray of hope (light).
