Psalm 49

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Why Should I Fear in Days of Evil?

For the choir director. Of the sons of Korah. A Psalm.

Hear this, all peoples;

Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

Both low and high,

Rich and poor together.

My mouth will speak wisdom,

And the meditation of my heart will be discernment.

I will incline my ear to a proverb;

I will express my riddle on the harp.

Why should I fear in days of evil,

When the iniquity of my supplanters surrounds me,

Even those who trust in their wealth

And boast in the abundance of their riches?

Truly, no man can redeem his brother;

He cannot give to God a ransom for him—

For the redemption price for their soul is costly,

And it ceases forever—

That he should live on eternally,

That he should not see corruption.

For he sees that even wise men die;

The fool and the senseless alike perish

And leave their wealth to others.

Their inner thought is that their houses are forever

And their dwelling places from generation to generation;

They have called their lands after their own names.

But man in his honor will not endure;

He is like the animals that perish.

This is the way of those who are foolish,

And of those after them who are pleased with their words. Selah.

As sheep they are appointed for Sheol;

Death will shepherd them;

And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning,

And their form shall be for Sheol to consume,

Far away from his habitation.

But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol,

For He will receive me. Selah.

Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich,

When the glory of his house increases;

For when he dies he will not take any of it;

His glory will not descend after him.

For while he lives he blesses his soul—

And men will praise you when you do well for yourself—

But his soul shall go to the generation of his fathers;

They will eternally not see light.

Man in his honor, but who does not understand,

Is like the animals that perish.

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