Psalm 49

New King James Version

The Confidence of the Foolish

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

49 Hear this, all peoples;
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
²Both low and high,
Rich and poor together.
³My mouth shall speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding.
⁴I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will disclose my ^[a]dark saying on the harp.

⁵Why should I fear in the days of evil,
When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?
⁶Those who ^(A)trust in their wealth
And boast in the multitude of their riches,
⁷None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
Nor ^(B)give to God a ransom for him—
⁸For ^(C)the redemption of their souls is costly,
And it shall cease forever—
⁹That he should continue to live eternally,
And ^(D)not ^[b]see the Pit.

¹⁰For he sees wise men die;
Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish,
And leave their wealth to others.
¹¹^[c]Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever,
Their dwelling places to all generations;
They ^(E)call their lands after their own names.
¹²Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not ^[d]remain;
He is like the beasts that perish.

¹³This is the way of those who are ^(F)foolish,
And of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah
¹⁴Like sheep they are laid in the grave;
Death shall feed on them;
^(G)The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;
^(H)And their beauty shall be consumed in ^[e]the grave, far from their dwelling.
¹⁵But God ^(I)will redeem my soul from the power of ^[f]the grave,
For He shall ^(J)receive me. Selah

¹⁶Do not be afraid when one becomes rich,
When the glory of his house is increased;
¹⁷For when he dies he shall carry nothing away;
His glory shall not descend after him.
¹⁸Though while he lives ^(K)he blesses himself
(For men will praise you when you do well for yourself),
¹⁹He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
They shall never see ^(L)light.^[g]
²⁰A man who is in honor, yet does not understand,
^(M)Is like the beasts that perish.