HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 875
PSAL M 50
page 505
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For the choir director: A psalm of the
descendants of Korah.
Listen to this, all you people!
Pay attention, everyone in the world!
High and low,
rich and poor—listen!
For my words are wise,
and my thoughts are filled with insight.
I listen carefully to many proverbs
and solve riddles with inspiration from
a harp.
Why should I fear when trouble comes,
when enemies surround me?
They trust in their wealth
and boast of great riches.
Yet they cannot redeem themselves
from death*
by paying a ransom to God.
Redemption does not come so easily,
for no one can ever pay enough
to live forever
and never see the grave.
Those who are wise must finally die,
just like the foolish and senseless,
leaving all their wealth behind.
The grave* is their eternal home,
where they will stay forever.
They may name their estates after
themselves,
but their fame will not last.
They will die, just like animals.
This is the fate of fools,
though they are remembered as
being wise.*
Interlude
Like sheep, they are led to the grave,*
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.
But as for me, God will redeem my life.
He will snatch me from the power of
the grave.
Interlude
So don’t be dismayed when the wicked
grow rich
and their homes become ever more
splendid.
For when they die, they take nothing
with them.
Their wealth will not follow them into
the grave.
In this life they consider themselves
fortunate
and are applauded for their success.
49:7 Some Hebrew manuscripts read no one can redeem
the life of another. 49:11 As in Greek and Syriac versions;
Hebrew reads Their inward [thought]. 49:13 The meaning
of the Hebrew is uncertain. 49:14 Hebrew Sheol; also in
49:14b, 15.
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But they will die like all before them
and never again see the light of day.
People who boast of their wealth don’t
understand;
they will die, just like animals.
50
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A psalm of Asaph.
The Lord, the Mighty One, is God,
and he has spoken;
he has summoned all humanity
from where the sun rises to where it sets.
From Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines in glorious radiance.
Our God approaches,
and he is not silent.
Fire devours everything in his way,
and a great storm rages around him.
He calls on the heavens above and
earth below
to witness the judgment of his people.
“Bring my faithful people to me—
those who made a covenant with me by
giving sacrifices.”
Then let the heavens proclaim his justice,
for God himself will be the judge.
Interlude
“O my people, listen as I speak.
Here are my charges against you,
O Israel:
I am God, your God!
I have no complaint about your sacrifices
or the burnt offerings you constantly
offer.
But I do not need the bulls from your
barns
or the goats from your pens.
• Death
PS A LM 49:10
Isn’t it foolish that we spend so much time
accumulating things, when we know that
every human being must die and leave all
earthly possessions behind (49:12; 89:48;
146:4)? Since we take nothing with us
when we die, it is meaningless to spend
our lives accumulating possessions and
all their trappings. But we can be storing
up real treasure in heaven and have our
eternal possessions waiting there when
we arrive (Matthew 6:19-21). When
you are tempted to toil and worry over
getting more money or more things, take
a moment to meditate on the work, the
words, the joyful times you can be storing
away—the things you won’t leave behind.