49:1 [For the music director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.]
Hear this, all peoples;
Listen, all inhabitants of the world,
49:2 Both low and high,
Rich and poor together.
49:3 My mouth will speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart will be understanding.
49:4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will ①express my riddle on the harp.
▷ ①Lit open up
49:5 Why should I fear in days of adversity,
When the injustice of those who betray me surrounds me,
49:6 Those who trust in their wealth
And boast in the abundance of their riches?
49:7 No one can by any means redeem another
Or give God a ransom for him—
49:8 For the redemption of ①his soul is priceless,
And he should cease imagining forever—
▷ ①Lit their
49:9 That he might live on eternally,
That he might not ①undergo decay.
▷ ①Or see corruption; lit see the pit
49:10 For he sees that even wise people die;
The foolish and the stupid alike perish
And leave their wealth to others.
49:11 Their ①inner thought is that their houses are forever
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have named their lands after their own names.
▷ ①Some ancient versions graves are their houses
49:12 But man in his splendor will not endure;
He is like the animals that ①perish.
▷ ①Lit are destroyed
49:13 This is the way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who approve their words. Selah
49:14 Like sheep they sink down to ①Sheol;
Death will be their shepherd;
And the upright will rule over them in the morning,
And their form shall be for ②Sheol to consume
③So that they have no lofty home.
▷ ①I.e., the netherworld ②I.e., the netherworld ③Lit Away from his habitation
49:15 But God will redeem my soul from the ①power of ②Sheol,
For He will receive me. Selah
▷ ①Lit hand ②I.e., the netherworld
49:16 Do not be afraid when a person becomes rich,
When the splendor of his house is increased;
49:17 For when he dies, he will take nothing with him;
His ①wealth will not descend after him.
▷ ①Lit glory
49:18 Though while he lives he congratulates ①himself—
And though people praise you when you do well for yourself—
▷ ①Lit his soul
49:19 ①He will go to the generation of his fathers;
They will never see the light.
▷ ①Lit You; or It
49:20 Mankind in its splendor, yet without understanding,
Is like the animals that ①perish.
▷ ①Lit are destroyed