Psalms 49

¹For the Leader; a Psalm of the sons of Korah.
²Hear this, all ye peoples; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world,
³Both low and high, rich and poor together.
⁴My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
⁵I will incline mine ear to a parable; I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
⁶Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my supplanters compasseth me about,
⁷Of them that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches?
⁸No man can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him--
⁹For too costly is the redemption of their soul, and must be let alone for ever--
¹⁰That he should still live alway, that he should not see the pit.
¹¹For he seeth that wise men die, the fool and the brutish together perish, and leave their wealth to others.
¹²Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling-places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.
¹³But man abideth not in honour; he is like the beasts that perish.
¹⁴This is the way of them that are foolish, and of those who after them approve their sayings. Selah
¹⁵Like sheep they are appointed for the nether-world; death shall be their shepherd; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their form shall be for the nether-world to wear away, that there be no habitation for it.
¹⁶But God will redeem my soul from the power of the nether-world; for He shall receive me. Selah
¹⁷Be not thou afraid when one waxeth rich, when the wealth of his house is increased;
¹⁸For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away; his wealth shall not descend after him.
¹⁹Though while he lived he blessed his soul: 'Men will praise thee, when thou shalt do well to thyself';
²⁰It shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see the light.
²¹Man that is in honour understandeth not; he is like the beasts that perish.

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