Psalm 48-49

New American Standard Bible

The Beauty and Glory of Zion.

A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah.

48 ^(A)Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
In the ^(B)city of our God, His ^(C)holy mountain.
²^(D)Beautiful in elevation, ^(E)the joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion in the far north,
The ^(F)city of the great King.
³In its palaces,
God has made Himself known as a ^(G)stronghold.

⁴For, behold, the ^(H)kings arrived,
They passed by together.
⁵They saw it, then they were amazed;
They were ^(I)terrified, they fled in a hurry.
⁶^[a]Panic seized them there,
Anguish, as that of ^(J)a woman in childbirth.
⁷With the ^(K)east wind
You ^(L)smash the ^(M)ships of Tarshish.
⁸Just as we have heard, so have we seen
In the city of the Lord of armies, in the city of our God;
God will ^(N)establish her forever. Selah

⁹We have thought over ^(O)Your goodness, God,
In the midst of Your temple.
¹⁰As is Your ^(P)name, God,
So is Your ^(Q)praise to the ends of the earth;
Your ^(R)right hand is full of righteousness.
¹¹Mount ^(S)Zion shall be glad,
The ^(T)daughters of Judah shall rejoice
Because of Your judgments.
¹²Walk around Zion and encircle her;
Count her ^(U)towers;
¹³Consider her ^(V)ramparts;
Go through her palaces,
So that you may ^(W)tell of her to the next generation.
¹⁴For ^[b]such is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will ^(X)lead us ^[c]until death.

The Foolishness of Trusting in Riches.

For the music director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

49 ^(Y)Hear this, all peoples;
Listen, all ^(Z)inhabitants of the world,
²Both ^(AA)low and high,
Rich and poor together.
³My mouth will ^(AB)speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart will be ^(AC)understanding.
⁴I will incline my ear to ^(AD)a proverb;
^(AE)I will ^[d]express my ^(AF)riddle on the harp.

⁵Why should I ^(AG)fear in days of adversity,
When the injustice of those who betray me surrounds me,
⁶Those who ^(AH)trust in their wealth
And boast in the abundance of their riches?
⁷No one can by any means ^(AI)redeem another
Or give God a ^(AJ)ransom for him—
⁸For ^(AK)the redemption of ^[e]his soul is priceless,
And he should cease imagining forever—
⁹That he might ^(AL)live on eternally,
That he might not ^[f]^(AM)undergo decay.

¹⁰For he sees that even ^(AN)wise people die;
The ^(AO)foolish and the stupid alike perish
And ^(AP)leave their wealth to others.
¹¹Their ^[g]^(AQ)inner thought is that their houses ^(AR)are forever
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have ^(AS)named their lands after their own names.
¹²But ^(AT)man in his splendor will not endure;
He is like the animals that ^[h]perish.

¹³This is the ^(AU)way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who ^(AV)approve their words. Selah
¹⁴Like sheep they sink down ^(AW)to ^[i]Sheol;
Death will be their shepherd;
And the ^(AX)upright will rule over them in the morning,
And their form shall be for ^[j]Sheol ^(AY)to consume
^[k]So that they have no lofty home.
¹⁵But God will ^(AZ)redeem my soul from the ^[l]power of ^[m]Sheol,
For ^(BA)He will receive me. Selah

¹⁶Do not be afraid ^(BB)when a person becomes rich,
When the splendor of his house is increased;
¹⁷For when he dies, he will ^(BC)take nothing with him;
His ^[n]wealth will not descend after him.
¹⁸Though while he lives he ^(BD)congratulates ^[o]himself—
And though people praise you when you do well for yourself—
¹⁹^[p]He will ^(BE)go to the generation of his fathers;
They will never see ^(BF)the light.
²⁰^(BG)Mankind in its splendor, yet without understanding,
Is ^(BH)like the animals that ^[q]perish.