Psalm 49 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Psa 49:1

Psa 49:1For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah.

Listen to this, all you people!
Pay attention, everyone in the world!

Psa 49:2

Psa 49:2High and low,
rich and poor—listen!

Psa 49:3

Psa 49:3For my words are wise,
and my thoughts are filled with insight.

Psa 49:4

Psa 49:4I listen carefully to many proverbs
and solve riddles with inspiration from a harp.

Psa 49:5

Psa 49:5Why should I fear when trouble comes,
when enemies surround me?

Psa 49:6

Psa 49:6They trust in their wealth
and boast of great riches.

Psa 49:7

Psa 49:7Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death[fn]
by paying a ransom to God.

Psa 49:8

Psa 49:8Redemption does not come so easily,
for no one can ever pay enough

Psa 49:9

Psa 49:9to live forever
and never see the grave.

Psa 49:10

Psa 49:10Those who are wise must finally die,
just like the foolish and senseless,
leaving all their wealth behind.

Psa 49:11

Psa 49:11The grave is their eternal home,
where they will stay forever.
They may name their estates after themselves,

Psa 49:12

Psa 49:12but their fame will not last.
They will die, just like animals.

Psa 49:13

Psa 49:13This is the fate of fools,
though they are remembered as being wise.[fn]
Interlude

Psa 49:14

Psa 49:14Like sheep, they are led to the grave,[fn]
where death will be their shepherd.
In the morning the godly will rule over them.
Their bodies will rot in the grave,
far from their grand estates.

Psa 49:15

Psa 49:15But as for me, God will redeem my life.
He will snatch me from the power of the grave.
Interlude

Psa 49:16

Psa 49:16So don’t be dismayed when the wicked grow rich
and their homes become ever more splendid.

Psa 49:17

Psa 49:17For when they die, they take nothing with them.
Their wealth will not follow them into the grave.

Psa 49:18

Psa 49:18In this life they consider themselves fortunate
and are applauded for their success.

Psa 49:19

Psa 49:19But they will die like all before them
and never again see the light of day.

Psa 49:20

Psa 49:20People who boast of their wealth don’t understand;
they will die, just like animals.

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

NLT Footnotes

(49:7)

Or no one can redeem the life of another.

(49:13)

The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.

(49:14)

Hebrew Sheol; also in 49:14b, 15.

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