For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by the sons of Korah.

49:1 Hear this, all you peoples. Listen, all you inhabitants of the world,

49:2 both low and high, rich and poor together.

49:3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom. My heart shall utter understanding.

49:4 I will incline my ear to a proverb. I will open my riddle on the harp.

49:5 Why should I fear in the days of evil, when iniquity at my heels surrounds me?

49:6 Those who trust in their wealth, and boast in the multitude of their riches—

49:7 none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give God a ransom for him.

49:8 For the redemption of their life is costly, no payment is ever enough,

49:9 That he should live on forever, that he should not see corruption.

49:10 For he sees that wise men die;

likewise the fool and the senseless perish, and leave their wealth to others.

49:11 Their inward thought is that their houses will endure forever,

and their dwelling places to all generations. They name their lands after themselves.

49:12 But man, despite his riches, doesn’t endure. He is like the animals that perish.

49:13 This is the destiny of those who are foolish, and of those who approve their sayings.

Selah.

49:14 They are appointed as a flock for Sheol. Death shall be their shepherd.

The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning.

Their beauty shall decay in Sheol, far from their mansion.

49:15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.

Selah.

49:16 Don’t be afraid when a man is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased.

49:17 For when he dies he shall carry nothing away. His glory shall not descend after him.

49:18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul— and men praise you when you do well for yourself—

49:19 he shall go to the generation of his fathers. They shall never see the light.

49:20 A man who has riches without understanding, is like the animals that perish.