Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of (A)the Sons of Korah.
49 (B)Hear this, all peoples!
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
2 (C)both low and high,
rich and poor together!
3 My mouth shall speak (D)wisdom;
the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to (E)a proverb;
I will solve my (F)riddle to the music of the lyre.
5 (G)Why should I fear in (H)times of trouble,
when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
6 those who (I)trust in their wealth
and boast of the abundance of their riches?
7 Truly no man (J)can ransom another,
or (K)give to God (L)the price of his life,
8 for (M)the ransom of their life is costly
and can never suffice,
9 that he should live on forever
and (N)never see the pit.
10 For he sees (O)that even the wise die;
(P)the fool and the stupid alike must perish
and (Q)leave their wealth to others.
11 Their (R)graves are their homes forever,[a]
their dwelling places (S)to all generations,
though they (T)called lands by their own names.
12 Man in his pomp (U)will not remain;
(V)he is like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the path of those who have (W)foolish confidence;
yet after them people approve of their boasts.[b] Selah
14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
death shall be their shepherd,
and the upright (X)shall rule over them in the morning.
(Y)Their form shall be consumed (Z)in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
15 But God will (AA)ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
for he will (AB)receive me. Selah
16 Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
when the glory of his house increases.
17 (AC)For when he dies he will (AD)carry nothing away;
his glory will not go down after him.
18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself (AE)blessed
—and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
19 his soul will (AF)go to the generation of his fathers,
who will never again (AG)see light.
20 (AH)Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.
Footnotes
- Psalm 49:11 Septuagint, Syriac, Targum; Hebrew Their inward thought was that their homes were forever
- Psalm 49:13 Or and of those after them who approve of their boasts
Cross references
- Psalm 49:1 : Ps. 42, title
- Psalm 49:1 : Ps. 78:1; Isa. 1:2; Mic. 1:2
- Psalm 49:2 : Ps. 62:9
- Psalm 49:3 : Prov. 1:20; 9:1
- Psalm 49:4 : [Ps. 78:2; Matt. 13:35]
- Psalm 49:4 : Num. 12:8; Prov. 1:6
- Psalm 49:5 : [Ps. 37:1]
- Psalm 49:5 : Ps. 94:13
- Psalm 49:6 : Ps. 52:7; Prov. 11:28; Mark 10:24, 25; [Job 31:24]
- Psalm 49:7 : [Matt. 25:9]
- Psalm 49:7 : [Matt. 16:26]
- Psalm 49:7 : See Job 33:24
- Psalm 49:8 : Job 36:18, 19
- Psalm 49:9 : Ps. 16:10; [Ps. 89:48]
- Psalm 49:10 : Eccles. 2:16
- Psalm 49:10 : Ps. 73:22; 92:6; 94:8; Prov. 30:2
- Psalm 49:10 : See Ps. 39:6
- Psalm 49:11 : Ps. 5:9; 64:6
- Psalm 49:11 : Ps. 10:6
- Psalm 49:11 : [Gen. 4:17]
- Psalm 49:12 : ver. 20; [Ps. 39:5; 82:7]
- Psalm 49:12 : ver. 20; Eccles. 3:19
- Psalm 49:13 : [Luke 12:20]
- Psalm 49:14 : [Dan. 7:22; Mal. 4:3; Luke 22:30; 1 Cor. 6:2; Rev. 2:26; 20:4]
- Psalm 49:14 : Ps. 39:11
- Psalm 49:14 : Job 24:19, 20
- Psalm 49:15 : Hos. 13:14; [Dan. 12:2]
- Psalm 49:15 : Ps. 16:11; 17:15; 73:24; [Gen. 5:24]
- Psalm 49:17 : [Job 27:19]
- Psalm 49:17 : 1 Tim. 6:7
- Psalm 49:18 : Ps. 10:3; 36:2; Deut. 29:19; Luke 12:19
- Psalm 49:19 : Gen. 15:15
- Psalm 49:19 : Ps. 56:13; Job 33:30
- Psalm 49:20 : ver. 12