Psalms 49

The Evanescence of Wealth

(Ecclesiastes 5:8–20)

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

¹Hear this, all you peoples;

listen, all inhabitants of the world,2

²both low and high,

rich and poor alike.2

³My mouth will impart wisdom,

and the meditation of my heart will bring understanding.1

⁴I will incline my ear to a proverb;

I will express my riddle with the harp:1

⁵Why should I fear in times of trouble,

when wicked usurpers surround me?1

⁶They trust in their wealth

and boast in their great riches.1

⁷No man can possibly redeem his brother

or pay his ransom to God.1

⁸For the redemption of his soul is costly,

and never can payment suffice,1

⁹that he should live on forever

and not see decay.1

¹⁰For it is clear that wise men die,

and the foolish and the senseless both perish

and leave their wealth to others.1

¹¹Their graves are their eternal homes—

their dwellings for endless generations—

even though their lands were their namesakes.1

¹²But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure;

he is like the beasts that perish.1

¹³This is the fate of the foolish and their followers who endorse their sayings. Selah1

¹⁴Like sheep they are destined for Sheol.

Death will be their shepherd.

The upright will rule them in the morning,

and their form will decay in Sheol,

far from their lofty abode.1

¹⁵But God will redeem my life from Sheol,

for He will surely take me to Himself.

Selah1

¹⁶Do not be afraid when a man grows rich,

when the splendor of his house increases.1

¹⁷For when he dies, he will carry nothing away;

his abundance will not follow him down.1

¹⁸Though in his lifetime he blesses his soul—

and men praise you when you prosper—1

¹⁹he will join the generation of his fathers,

who will never see the light of day.1

²⁰A man who has riches without understanding

is like the beasts that perish.1