Psalms 49:1
Hear this, all ye peoples. Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world,
Psalms 49:2
both low and high, rich and poor together.
Psalms 49:3
My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
Psalms 49:4
I will incline my ear to a proverb. I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
Psalms 49:5
Why should I fear in the days of evil, when iniquity at my heels encompasses me about?
Psalms 49:6
Those who trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches,
Psalms 49:7
none can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him
Psalms 49:8
(for the redemption of their life is costly, and it fails forever),
Psalms 49:9
that he should still live always, that he should not see corruption.
Psalms 49:10
For he shall see it. Wise men die. The fool and the brutish alike perish, and leave their wealth to others.
Psalms 49:11
Their inward thought is that their houses are forever, their dwelling-places to all generations. They call their lands after their own names.
Psalms 49:12
Even a man in splendor does not abide. He is like the beasts that perish.
Psalms 49:13
This their way is their folly. Yet after them men approve their sayings. Selah.
Psalms 49:14
They are appointed as a flock for Sheol. Death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning. And their beauty shall be for Sheol to consume, that there be no habitation for it.
Psalms 49:15
But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah.
Psalms 49:16
Be not thou afraid when a man is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased.
Psalms 49:17
For when he dies he shall carry nothing away. His glory shall not descend after him.
Psalms 49:18
Though while he lived he blessed his soul (and men praise thee, when thou do well for thyself),
Psalms 49:19
he shall go to the generation of his fathers. They shall never see the light.
Psalms 49:20
A man who is in splendor, and understands not, is like the beasts that perish.