Psalm 49:1-Psalm 50:1 - Misplaced Trust In Wealth

¹ For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah.Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who inhabit the world,
² both low and high,
rich and poor together.
³ My mouth speaks wisdom;
my heart’s meditation brings understanding.
⁴ I turn my ear to a proverb;
I explain my riddle with a lyre.

⁵ Why should I fear in times of trouble?
The iniquity of my foes surrounds me.
⁶ They trust in their wealth
and boast of their abundant riches.
⁷ Yet these cannot redeem a person
or pay his ransom to God—
⁸ since the price of redeeming him is too costly,
one should forever stop trying—
⁹ so that he may live forever
and not see the Pit.

¹⁰ For one can see that wise men die;
foolish and stupid men also pass away.
Then they leave their wealth to others.
¹¹ Their graves are their eternal homes,
their homes from generation to generation,
though they have named estates after themselves.
¹² But despite his assets, man will not last;
he is like the animals that perish.

¹³ This is the way of those who are arrogant,
and of their followers,
who approve of their words.Selah
¹⁴ Like sheep they are headed for Sheol;
Death will shepherd them.
The upright will rule over them in the morning,
and their form will waste away in Sheol,
far from their lofty abode.
¹⁵ But God will redeem my life
from the power of Sheol,
for He will take me.Selah

¹⁶ Do not be afraid when a man gets rich,
when the wealth of his house increases.
¹⁷ For when he dies, he will take nothing at all;
his wealth will not follow him down.
¹⁸ Though he praises himself during his lifetime—
and people praise you when you do well for yourself—
¹⁹ he will go to the generation of his fathers;
they will never see the light.
²⁰ A man with valuable possessions
but without understanding
is like the animals that perish.