Psalm 49:1-20
To the director. Of the sons of Koʹrah.+ A melody.
49 Hear this, all YOU peoples.Give ear, all YOU inhabitants of the system of things,*+
2 YOU sons of humankind* as well as YOU sons of man,*You rich one and you poor one together.+
3 My own mouth will speak things of wisdom,+And the meditation of my heart will be of things of understanding.+
4 To a proverbial utterance I shall incline my ear;+On a harp I shall open up my riddle.+
5 Why should I be afraid in the days of evil,+[When] the very error of my supplanters* surrounds me?+
6 Those who are trusting in their means of maintenance,+And who keep boasting about the abundance of their riches,+
7 Not one of them* can by any means redeem even a brother,+Nor give to God a ransom for him;*
8 (And the redemption price of their* soul is so precious+That it has ceased to time indefinite)
9 That he should still live forever [and] not see the pit.+
10 For he sees that even the wise ones die,+Together the stupid one and the unreasoning one perish,+And they must leave to others their means of maintenance.+
11 Their inward wish* is that their houses may be to time indefinite,+Their tabernacles to generation after generation.+They have called their landed estates by their names.+
12 And yet earthling man,* though in honor, cannot keep lodging;+He is indeed comparable with the beasts that have been destroyed.*+
13 This is the way of those who have stupidity,+And of those coming after them who take pleasure in their very mouthings.* Seʹlah.
14 Like sheep they have been appointed* to Sheʹol itself;+Death itself will shepherd* them;+And the upright ones will have them in subjection in the morning,+And their forms* are due to wear away;+Sheʹol rather than a lofty abode is for each one.*+
15 However, God himself will redeem my soul from the hand of Sheʹol,+For he will receive me. Seʹlah.
16 Do not be afraid because some man gains riches,+Because the glory of his house increases,+
17 For at his death he cannot take along anything at all;+His glory will not go down along with him himself.+
18 For during his lifetime he kept blessing his own soul;+(And people will laud you because you do well for yourself)+
19 [His soul]* finally comes only as far as the generation of his forefathers.+Nevermore will they see the light.+
20 Earthling man, although in honor, who does not understand,*+Is indeed comparable with the beasts that have been destroyed.+
Footnotes
^ Or, “the duration of life.” Heb., chaʹledh.
^ “Humankind.” Heb., ʼa·dhamʹ.
^ “Man.” Heb., ʼish.
^ “Supplanters,” by a change of vowel pointing; M, “heels.”
^ “One of them.” Heb., ʼish.
^ Or, “a ransom for himself.” Lit., “his cover.” Heb., koph·rohʹ.
^ “Their,” MSy; LXXVg, “his.”
^ “Their inward wish,” M; LXXSyVg, “Their graves.”
^ “And yet earthling man.” Heb., weʼa·dhamʹ.
^ Or, “silenced.”
^ Lit., “mouth.”
^ “Their rock,” Mmargin.
^ Or, “for him,” that is, for each one in the group.
^ Or, “pasture [tend].”
^ Lit., “they have appointed [them].” By a correction of the verb, “they will descend (drop).”
^ Lit., “it,” fem., referring to the “soul.”
^ “Who does not understand,” M; by altering the Heb. verb form in harmony with vs 12a, “even does not keep lodging.”
