Psalms 49 The Vanity of Earthly Goods. Only God Saves from Death

 Psalms 49

The Vanity of Earthly Goods. Only God Saves from Death

1 Hear this, all you peoples; give ear, all you inhabitants of the world.

2 Both lowly and great, both rich and poor.

3 My mouth will speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart will be understanding.

4 I will incline my ear to a parable; I will explain my riddle on the harp:

5 Why should I fear in the evil days, when the iniquity of those who lie in wait for me surrounds me?

6 Those who trust in their wealth, and boast in the abundance of their riches,

7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom for him.

8 (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and their means would soon fail); 

9 Therefore he will not live forever, or see corruption: 

10 For he sees that wise men die, that the fool and the brutish alike perish, and leave their wealth to others. 

11 Their inward thought is that their houses shall endure forever, and their dwellings to all generations: they give their lands their own names. 

12 Yet man that is in honour abideth not; but is as the beasts that perish. 

13 Their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their words. 

14 They are buried like sheep; death shall feed upon them; and the upright shall rule over them in the morning; and their beauty shall perish in the grave, because there is no more place to dwell. 

15 But God shall redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for he shall receive me.

 16 Fear not when a man becometh rich, when the glory of his house is increased. 

17 For when he dies, he will take nothing with him, nor will his glory follow him.

18 Though he blesses his soul while he lives, and men praise you when you do good to yourself,

19 He will go to the generation of his fathers; they will never see the light.

20 A man who is honored and has no understanding is like the beasts that perish.