VerseAI

NIV

Psalms 49

  1. 1<pb/><e>For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.</e> <pb/><t>Hear this, all you peoples;</t> <t>listen, all who live in this world,</t>
  2. 2<t>both low and high,</t> <t>rich and poor alike:</t>
  3. 3<t>My mouth will speak words of wisdom;</t> <t>the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.</t>
  4. 4<t>I will turn my ear to a proverb;</t> <t>with the harp I will expound my riddle: <pb/></t>
  5. 5<t>Why should I fear when evil days come,</t> <t>when wicked deceivers surround me—</t>
  6. 6<t>those who trust in their wealth</t> <t>and boast of their great riches?</t>
  7. 7<t>No one can redeem the life of another</t> <t>or give to God a ransom for them—</t>
  8. 8<t>the ransom for a life is costly,</t> <t>no payment is ever enough—</t>
  9. 9<t>so that they should live on forever</t> <t>and not see decay.</t>
  10. 10<t>For all can see that the wise die,</t> <t>that the foolish and the senseless also perish,</t> <t>leaving their wealth to others.</t>
  11. 11<t>Their tombs will remain their houses<f>[83]</f> forever,</t> <t>their dwellings for endless generations,</t> <t>though they had<f>[84]</f> named lands after themselves. <pb/></t>
  12. 12<t>People, despite their wealth, do not endure;</t> <t>they are like the beasts that perish. <pb/></t>
  13. 13<t>This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,</t> <t>and of their followers, who approve their sayings.<f>[85]</f></t>
  14. 14<t>They are like sheep and are destined to die;</t> <t>death will be their shepherd</t> <t>(but the upright will prevail over them in the morning).</t> <t>Their forms will decay in the grave,</t> <t>far from their princely mansions.</t>
  15. 15<t>But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;</t> <t>he will surely take me to himself.</t>
  16. 16<t>Do not be overawed when others grow rich,</t> <t>when the splendor of their houses increases;</t>
  17. 17<t>for they will take nothing with them when they die,</t> <t>their splendor will not descend with them.</t>
  18. 18<t>Though while they live they count themselves blessed—</t> <t>and people praise you when you prosper—</t>
  19. 19<t>they will join those who have gone before them,</t> <t>who will never again see the light of life. <pb/></t>
  20. 20<t>People who have wealth but lack understanding</t> <t>are like the beasts that perish.</t>