Psalms 49

¹ To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

² both low and high, rich and poor together!

³ My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

⁴ I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.

⁵ Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,

⁶ men who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?

⁷ Truly no man can ransom himself, or give to God the price of his life,

⁸ for the ransom of his life is costly, and can never suffice,

⁹ that he should continue to live on for ever, and never see the Pit.

¹⁰ Yea, he shall see that even the wise die, the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others.

¹¹ Their graves are their homes for ever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they named lands their own.

¹² Man cannot abide in his pomp, he is like the beasts that perish.

¹³ This is the fate of those who have foolish confidence, the end of those who are pleased with their portion. [Selah]

¹⁴ Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; straight to the grave they descend, and their form shall waste away; Sheol shall be their home.

¹⁵ But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. [Selah]

¹⁶ Be not afraid when one becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases.

¹⁷ For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him.

¹⁸ Though, while he lives, he counts himself happy, and though a man gets praise when he does well for himself,

¹⁹ he will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never more see the light.

²⁰ Man cannot abide in his pomp, he is like the beasts that perish.