Psalm 48-50
New King James Version
The Glory of God in Zion
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
48 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
In the (A)city of our God,
In His holy mountain.
2 (B)Beautiful in [a]elevation,
The joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north,
The city of the great King.
3 God is in her palaces;
He is known as her refuge.
4 For behold, (C)the kings assembled,
They passed by together.
5 They saw it, and so they marveled;
They were troubled, they hastened away.
6 Fear (D)took hold of them there,
And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs,
7 As when You break the (E)ships of Tarshish
With an east wind.
8 As we have heard,
So we have seen
In the city of the Lord of hosts,
In the city of our God:
God will (F)establish it forever. Selah
9 We have thought, O God, on (G)Your lovingkindness,
In the midst of Your temple.
10 According to (H)Your name, O God,
So is Your praise to the ends of the earth;
Your right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Let Mount Zion rejoice,
Let the daughters of Judah be glad,
Because of Your judgments.
12 Walk about Zion,
And go all around her.
Count her towers;
13 Mark well her bulwarks;
Consider her palaces;
That you may (I)tell it to the generation following.
14 For this is God,
Our God forever and ever;
(J)He will be our guide
[b]Even to death.
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,
2 Both low and high,
Rich and poor together.
3 My mouth shall speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will disclose my [c]dark saying on the harp.
5 Why should I fear in the days of evil,
When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?
6 Those who (K)trust in their wealth
And boast in the multitude of their riches,
7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
Nor (L)give to God a ransom for him—
8 For (M)the redemption of their souls is costly,
And it shall cease forever—
9 That he should continue to live eternally,
And (N)not [d]see the Pit.
10 For he sees wise men die;
Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish,
And leave their wealth to others.
11 [e]Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever,
Their dwelling places to all generations;
They (O)call their lands after their own names.
12 Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not [f]remain;
He is like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the way of those who are (P)foolish,
And of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah
14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave;
Death shall feed on them;
(Q)The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;
(R)And their beauty shall be consumed in [g]the grave, far from their dwelling.
15 But God (S)will redeem my soul from the power of [h]the grave,
For He shall (T)receive me. Selah
16 Do not be afraid when one becomes rich,
When the glory of his house is increased;
17 For when he dies he shall carry nothing away;
His glory shall not descend after him.
18 Though while he lives (U)he blesses himself
(For men will praise you when you do well for yourself),
19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
They shall never see (V)light.[i]
20 A man who is in honor, yet does not understand,
(W)Is like the beasts that perish.
God the Righteous Judge
A Psalm of Asaph.
50 The (X)Mighty One, God the Lord,
Has spoken and called the earth
From the rising of the sun to its going down.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
(Y)God will shine forth.
3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
(Z)A fire shall devour before Him,
And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.
4 (AA)He shall call to the heavens from above,
And to the earth, that He may judge His people:
5 “Gather (AB)My saints together to Me,
(AC)Those who have [j]made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”
6 Let the (AD)heavens declare His righteousness,
For (AE)God Himself is Judge. Selah
7 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you;
(AF)I am God, your God!
8 (AG)I will not [k]rebuke you (AH)for your sacrifices
Or your burnt offerings,
Which are continually before Me.
9 (AI)I will not take a bull from your house,
Nor goats out of your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is Mine,
And the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the mountains,
And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
(AJ)For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.
13 (AK)Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
Or drink the blood of goats?
14 (AL)Offer to God thanksgiving,
And (AM)pay your vows to the Most High.
15 (AN)Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,
17 (AO)Seeing you hate instruction
And cast My words behind you?
18 When you saw a thief, you (AP)consented[l] with him,
And have been a (AQ)partaker with adulterers.
19 You give your mouth to evil,
And (AR)your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done, and I kept silent;
(AS)You thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And (AT)set them in order before your eyes.
22 “Now consider this, you who (AU)forget God,
Lest I tear you in pieces,
And there be none to deliver:
23 Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And (AV)to him who orders his conduct aright
I will show the salvation of God.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 48:2 height
- Psalm 48:14 So with MT, Syr.; LXX, Vg. Forever
- Psalm 49:4 riddle
- Psalm 49:9 experience corruption
- Psalm 49:11 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. Their graves shall be their houses forever
- Psalm 49:12 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. understand (cf. v. 20)
- Psalm 49:14 Or Sheol
- Psalm 49:15 Or Sheol
- Psalm 49:19 The light of life
- Psalm 50:5 Lit. cut
- Psalm 50:8 reprove
- Psalm 50:18 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. ran
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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