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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
Or no one can redeem the life of another.
The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
Hebrew Sheol; also in 49:14b, 15.
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Psalm Chapter 49 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard 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