Psalms 49 · Clearspring

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

The Evanescence of Wealth

¹Hear this, all ye peoples; Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world,+ ²Both low and high, Rich and poor together.+ ³My mouth shall speak wisdom; And the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.+ ⁴I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.+ ⁵Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, When iniquity at my heels compasseth me about?+ ⁶They that trust in their wealth, And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;+ ⁷None [of them] can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him+ ⁸( For the redemption of their life is costly, And it faileth for ever),+ ⁹That he should still live alway, That he should not see corruption.+ ¹⁰For he shall see it. Wise men die; The fool and the brutish alike perish, And leave their wealth to others.+ ¹¹Their 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.+ ¹²But man [being] in honor abideth not: He is like the beasts that perish.+ ¹³This their way is their folly: Yet after them men approve their sayings.[Selah+ ¹⁴They are appointed as a flock for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd: And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; And their beauty shall be for Sheol to consume, That there be no habitation for it.+ ¹⁵But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol; For he will receive me.[Selah+ ¹⁶Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, When the glory of his house is increased:+ ¹⁷For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away; His glory shall not descend after him.+ ¹⁸Though while he lived he blessed his soul( And men praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself),+ ¹⁹He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see the light.+ ²⁰Man that is in honor, and understandeth not, Is like the beasts that perish.+

The Evanescence of Wealth

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