Psalms 49:1-13 ▼

1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all inhabitants of the world,

2 both low and high, rich and poor alike.

3 My mouth will impart wisdom, and the meditation of my heart will bring understanding.

4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle with the harp:

5 Why should I fear in times of trouble, when wicked usurpers surround me?

6 They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.

7 No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God.

8 For the redemption of his soul is costly, and never can payment suffice,

9 that he should live on forever and not see decay.

10 For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others.

11 Their graves are their eternal homes—their dwellings for endless generations—even though their lands were their namesakes.

12 But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish.

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