Psalms 49

1A psalm for Asaph. The God of gods, the Lord hath spoken: and he hath called the earth. From the rising of the sun, to the going down thereof:

1 Hear this, all ye peoples; give ear, all inhabitants of the world:

2Out of Sion the loveliness of his beauty.

2 Both men of low and men of high degree, rich and poor alike.

3God shall come manifestly: our God shall come, and shall not keep silence. A fire shall burn before him: and a mighty tempest shall be round about him.

3 My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding:

4He shall call heaven from above, and the earth, to judge his people.

4 I will incline mine ear to a parable, I will open my riddle upon the harp.

5Gather ye together his saints to him: who set his covenant before sacrifices.

5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of adversity, [when] the iniquity of my supplanters encompasseth me? —

6And the heavens shall declare his justice: for God is judge.

6 They depend upon their wealth, and boast themselves in the abundance of their riches. ...

7Hear, O my people, and I will speak: O Israel, and I will testify to thee: I am God, thy God.

7 None can by any means redeem his brother, nor give toGod a ransom for him,

8I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices: and thy burnt offerings are always in my sight.

8 (For the redemption of their soul is costly, and must be given up for ever,)

9I will not take calves out of thy house: nor he goats out of thy flocks.

9 That he should still live perpetually, [and] not see corruption.

10For all the beasts of the woods are mine: the cattle on the hills, and the oxen.

10 For he seeth that wise men die; all alike, the fool and the brutish perish, and they leave their wealth to others.

11I know all the fowls of the air: and with me is the beauty of the field.

11 Their inward thought is, that their houses are for ever, their dwelling-places from generation to generation: they call the lands after their own names.

12If I should be hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.

12 Nevertheless, man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.

13Shall I eat the flesh of bullocks? or shall I drink the blood of goats?

13 This their way is their folly, yet they that come after them delight in their sayings. Selah.

14Offer to God the sacrifice of praise: and pay thy vows to the most High.

14 Like sheep are they laid in Sheol: Death feedeth on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their comeliness shall be for Sheol to consume, that there be no habitation for them.

15And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

15 ButGod will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol: for he will receive me. Selah.

16But to the sinner God hath said: Why dost thou declare my justices, and take my covenant in thy mouth?

16 Be not afraid when a man becometh rich, when the glory of his house is increased:

17Seeing thou hast hated discipline: and hast cast my words behind thee.

17 For when he dieth, he shall carry nothing away; his glory shall not descend after him.

18If thou didst see a thief thou didst run with him: and with adulterers thou hast been a partaker.

18 Though he blessed his soul in his lifetime, — and men will praise thee when thou doest well to thyself, —

19Thy mouth hath abounded with evil, and thy tongue framed deceits.

19 It shall go to the generation of his fathers: they shall never see light.

20Sitting thou didst speak against thy brother, and didst lay a scandal against thy mother's son:

20 Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.

21These things hast thou done, and I was silent. Thou thoughtest unjustly that I should be like to thee: but I will reprove thee, and set before thy face.

21(not in this translation)

22Understand these things, you that forget God; lest he snatch you away, and there be none to deliver you.

22(not in this translation)

23The sacrifice of praise shall glorify me: and there is the way by which I will shew him the salvation of God.

23(not in this translation)