Psalm 49 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?

Psa 49:1To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
Hear this, all peoples!
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

Psa 49:2

Psa 49:2both low and high,
rich and poor together!

Psa 49:3

Psa 49:3My mouth shall speak wisdom;
the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

Psa 49:4

Psa 49:4I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.

Psa 49:5

Psa 49:5Why should I fear in times of trouble,
when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,

Psa 49:6

Psa 49:6those who trust in their wealth
and boast of the abundance of their riches?

Psa 49:7

Psa 49:7Truly no man can ransom another,
or give to God the price of his life,

Psa 49:8

Psa 49:8for the ransom of their life is costly
and can never suffice,

Psa 49:9

Psa 49:9that he should live on forever
and never see the pit.

Psa 49:10

Psa 49:10For he sees that even the wise die;
the fool and the stupid alike must perish
and leave their wealth to others.

Psa 49:11

Psa 49:11Their graves are their homes forever,[fn]
their dwelling places to all generations,
though they called lands by their own names.

Psa 49:12

Psa 49:12Man in his pomp will not remain;
he is like the beasts that perish.

Psa 49:13

Psa 49:13This is the path of those who have foolish confidence;
yet after them people approve of their boasts.[fn] Selah

Psa 49:14

Psa 49:14Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
death shall be their shepherd,
and the upright shall rule over them in the morning.
Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.

Psa 49:15

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

Psa 49:16

Psa 49:16Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
when the glory of his house increases.

Psa 49:17

Psa 49:17For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
his glory will not go down after him.

Psa 49:18

Psa 49:18For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed
—and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—

Psa 49:19

Psa 49:19his soul will go to the generation of his fathers,
who will never again see light.

Psa 49:20

Psa 49:20Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

See the ESV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

ESV Footnotes

(49:11)

Septuagint, Syriac, Targum; Hebrew Their inward thought was that their homes were forever

(49:13)

Or and of those after them who approve of their boasts

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For more information on this translation, see the ESV Preface.

Psalm Chapter 49 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New Living Translation New International Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras

Psalm 49 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?

ESV Footnotes

Psalm Chapter 49 — Additional Translations:

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