Psalm 49:8
New International Version
the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough—

New Living Translation
Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enough

English Standard Version
for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice,

Berean Standard Bible
For the redemption of his soul is costly, and never can payment suffice,

King James Bible
(For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)

New King James Version
For the redemption of their souls is costly, And it shall cease forever—

New American Standard Bible
For the redemption of his soul is priceless, And he should cease imagining forever—

NASB 1995
For the redemption of his soul is costly, And he should cease trying forever—

NASB 1977
For the redemption of his soul is costly, And he should cease trying forever—

Legacy Standard Bible
For the redemption price for their soul is costly, And it ceases forever—

Amplified Bible
For the ransom of his soul is too costly, And he should cease trying forever—

Christian Standard Bible
since the price of redeeming him is too costly, one should forever stop trying —

Holman Christian Standard Bible
since the price of redeeming him is too costly, one should forever stop trying—

American Standard Version
(For the redemption of their life is costly, And it faileth for ever),

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
The salvation of their souls is precious; it labors for eternity,

Brenton Septuagint Translation
or the price of the redemption of his soul, though he labour for ever,

Contemporary English Version
It costs far too much to buy back your life. You can never pay God enough

Douay-Rheims Bible
Nor the price of the redemption of his soul: and shall labour for ever,

English Revised Version
(For the redemption of their soul is costly, and must be let alone for ever:)

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The price to be paid for his soul is too costly. He must always give up

Good News Translation
because the payment for a human life is too great. What we could pay would never be enough

International Standard Version
for it would cost too much to redeem his life, and the payments would go on forever—

JPS Tanakh 1917
For too costly is the redemption of their soul, And must be let alone for ever--

Literal Standard Version
And precious [is] the redemption of their soul, | And it has ceased for all time.

Majority Standard Bible
For the redemption of his soul is costly, and never can payment suffice,

New American Bible
The redemption of his soul is costly; and he will pass away forever.

NET Bible
(the ransom price for a human life is too high, and people go to their final destiny),

New Revised Standard Version
For the ransom of life is costly, and can never suffice,

New Heart English Bible
For the redemption of their life is costly, no payment is ever enough,

Webster's Bible Translation
(For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)

World English Bible
For the redemption of their life is costly, no payment is ever enough,

Young's Literal Translation
And precious is the redemption of their soul, And it hath ceased -- to the age.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Evanescence of Wealth
7No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God. 8For the redemption of his soul is costly, and never can payment suffice, 9that he should live on forever and not see decay.…

Cross References
Matthew 16:26
What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

Psalm 49:9
that he should live on forever and not see decay.


Treasury of Scripture

(For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceases for ever:)

Job 36:18,19
Because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with his stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee…

Jump to Previous
Able Age Alone Cease Ceased Ceaseth Costly Death Enough Faileth Forever Great Life Payment Precious Price Ransom Redemption Soul Suffice Trying
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Able Age Alone Cease Ceased Ceaseth Costly Death Enough Faileth Forever Great Life Payment Precious Price Ransom Redemption Soul Suffice Trying
Psalm 49
1. An earnest persuasion to build the faith of resurrection
16. Worldly prosperity is not to be admired














(8) For.--This verse is rightly placed in a parenthesis. "Soul" is the animal life, as generally, and here necessarily from the context. There is no anticipation of the Christian scheme of redemption from sin. A ransom which could buy a man from death, as one redeems a debtor or prisoner, would be beyond the means of the wealthiest, even if nature allowed such a bargain.

It ceaseth for ever.--This is obscure. It may mean, either the ransom utterly fails, or the life utterly perishes, and so cannot be ransomed. Or, as in the Prayer Book version, the verb may be taken transitively, "he lets that alone for ever." The first of these is the simplest, and most agreeable to the context.

Verse 8. - For the redemption of their soul is precious; or, costly - too costly, i.e., for them, however rich they may be, to be able to effect it (comp. Job 36:18, 19). And it ceaseth for ever; rather, and one must let that aloes for ever (Cheyne, Kay, Hengstenberg, Revised Version).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
For the redemption
פִּדְי֥וֹן (piḏ·yō·wn)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6306: Ransom, that were redeemed, redemption

of his soul
נַפְשָׁ֗ם (nap̄·šām)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

is costly,
וְ֭יֵקַר (wə·yê·qar)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3365: To be heavy, valuable, to make rare

and never
לְעוֹלָֽם׃ (lə·‘ō·w·lām)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5769: Concealed, eternity, frequentatively, always

can payment suffice,
וְחָדַ֥ל (wə·ḥā·ḏal)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2308: To be flabby, desist, be lacking, idle


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OT Poetry: Psalm 49:8 For the redemption of their life (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 49:7
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