The Psalms

Psalm 49

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

 ^49:1Hear this, all ye peoples;

 Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world,

 ^49:2Both low and high,

 Rich and poor together.

 ^49:3My mouth shall speak wisdom;

 And the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

 ^49:4I will incline mine ear to a parable:

 I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

 ^49:5Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil,

 When iniquity at my heels compasseth me about?

 ^49:6They that trust in their wealth,

 And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;

 ^49:7None of them can by any means redeem his brother,

 Nor give to God a ransom for him;

 ^49:8(For the redemption of their life is costly,

 And it faileth for ever;)

 ^49:9That he should still live alway,

 That he should not see corruption.

 ^49:10For he shall see it. Wise men die;

 The fool and the brutish alike perish,

 And leave their wealth to others.

 ^49:11Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever,

 And their dwelling-places to all generations;

 They call their lands after their own names.

 ^49:12But man being in honor abideth not:

 He is like the beasts that perish.

  ^49:13This their way is their folly:

 Yet after them men approve their sayings.

Selah

 ^49:14They 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.

 ^49:15But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol;

 For he will receive me.

Selah

 ^49:16Be not thou afraid when one is made rich,

 When the glory of his house is increased.

 ^49:17For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away;

 His glory shall not descend after him.

 ^49:18Though while he lived he blessed his soul

 (And men praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself,)

 ^49:19He shall go to the generation of his fathers;

 They shall never see the light.

 ^49:20Man that is in honor, and understandeth not,

 Is like the beasts that perish.