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Psalm chapter 49

English Standard Version

1To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, 2both low and high, rich and poor together! 3My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. 4I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre. 5Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, 6those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? 7Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, 8for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, 9that he should live on forever and never see the pit. 10For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. 11Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. 12Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish. 13This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah 14Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell. 15But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah 16Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. 17For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. 18For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed—and though you get praise when you do well for yourself— 19his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. 20Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.
New International Version

1For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm. Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world, 2both low and high, rich and poor alike: 3My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.
4I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp I will expound my riddle: 5Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me-- 6those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? 7No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them-- 8the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough-- 9so that they should live on forever and not see decay. 10For all can see that the wise die, that the foolish and the senseless also perish, leaving their wealth to others.
11Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves.
12People, despite their wealth, do not endure; they are like the beasts that perish. 13This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. 14They are like sheep and are destined to die; death will be their shepherd (but the upright will prevail over them in the morning). Their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions. 15But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself. 16Do not be overawed when others grow rich, when the splendor of their houses increases; 17for they will take nothing with them when they die, their splendor will not descend with them. 18Though while they live they count themselves blessed-- and people praise you when you prosper--
19they will join those who have gone before them, who will never again see the light of life. 20People who have wealth but lack understanding are like the beasts that perish.
New American Standard Bible

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

1Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who inhabit the world, 2both low and high, rich and poor together. 3My mouth speaks wisdom; my heart's meditation brings understanding.
4I turn my ear to a proverb; I explain my riddle with a lyre. 5Why should I fear in times of trouble? The iniquity of my foes surrounds me. 6They trust in their wealth and boast of their abundant riches. 7Yet these cannot redeem a person or pay his ransom to God -- 8since the price of redeeming him is too costly, one should forever stop trying --
9so that he may live forever and not see the Pit. 10For one can see that the wise die; the foolish and stupid also pass away. Then they leave their wealth to others. 11Their graves are their permanent homes, their dwellings from generation to generation, though they have named estates after themselves.
12But despite his assets, mankind will not last; he is like the animals that perish.
13This is the way of those who are arrogant, and of their followers, who approve of their words. Selah 14Like sheep they are headed for Sheol; Death will shepherd them. The upright will rule over them in the morning, and their form will waste away in Sheol, far from their lofty abode.
15But God will redeem me from the power of Sheol, for he will take me. Selah 16Do not be afraid when a person gets rich, when the wealth of his house increases. 17For when he dies, he will take nothing at all; his wealth will not follow him down. 18Though he blesses himself during his lifetime -- and you are acclaimed when you do well for yourself -- 19he will go to the generation of his ancestors; they will never see the light. 20Mankind, with his assets but without understanding, is like the animals that perish.
New Living Translation

1Listen to this, all you people! Pay attention, everyone in the world! 2High and low, rich and poor — listen! 3For my words are wise, and my thoughts are filled with insight. 4I listen carefully to many proverbs and solve riddles with inspiration from a harp.
5Why should I fear when trouble comes, when enemies surround me? 6They trust in their wealth and boast of great riches. 7Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death by paying a ransom to God. 8Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enough 9to live forever and never see the grave.
10Those who are wise must finally die, just like the foolish and senseless, leaving all their wealth behind. 11The grave is their eternal home, where they will stay forever. They may name their estates after themselves, 12but their fame will not last. They will die, just like animals.
13This is the fate of fools, though they are remembered as being wise. Interlude
14Like sheep, they are led to the grave, where death will be their shepherd. In the morning the godly will rule over them. Their bodies will rot in the grave, far from their grand estates.
15But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of the grave. Interlude
16So don’t be dismayed when the wicked grow rich and their homes become ever more splendid. 17For when they die, they take nothing with them. Their wealth will not follow them into the grave. 18In this life they consider themselves fortunate and are applauded for their success. 19But they will die like all before them and never again see the light of day. 20People who boast of their wealth don’t understand; they will die, just like animals.
King James Version

1{To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.} Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: 2Both low and high, rich and poor, together. 3My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. 4I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp. 5Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?
6They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; 7None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: 8(For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:) 9That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption. 10For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. 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. 12Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish. 13This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah. 14Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.
15But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah. 16Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; 17For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him. 18Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself. 19He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light. 20Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.

What does Psalm chapter 49 mean?

The subject of this psalm is depicted as a "riddle." In this case, that means something hard to understand or a frustration which requires wisdom to untangle (Proverbs 1:6–7). According to the introduction, this message is valuable for all people. That includes those who are rich or poor, powerful or weak (Psalm 49:1–4).

The mystery in question is how to react to people who are both wicked and rich. Some appear to live lives of comfort and prestige, though their hearts are opposed to God. Meanwhile, godly people often suffer. This is a topic addressed in other psalms (Psalm 73:2–3) and proverbs (Proverbs 11:4; 22:2). This can be discouraging to those who faithfully follow the Lord. However, those who reject God can only have temporary, false security. Money and prestige do not buy a pardon from sin. Eventually, everyone dies, and the rich will leave their money behind for others. Only the God-fearing person has hope in eternity (Psalm 49:5–12).

Those who trust in wealth, instead of God, have a final destiny of death. The psalm uses the term Sheol several times, referring vaguely to the grave or state of being dead. Those who honor God shouldn't be jealous of prosperous-but-ungodly people. Just as the poor, those rich persons will one day face God in judgment. No matter how wealthy a man is, he cannot avoid death any more than can the lowliest animal (Psalm 49:13–20).
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