________________________

                                PSALM 49

                         Sons of Korah | Yahweh
                        ________________________


                                  B.C.


      Hear this, all peoples!
      Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
      both low and high,
      rich and poor together!

      My mouth shall speak wisdom;
      the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
      I will incline my ear to a proverb;
      I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.

      Why should I fear in times of trouble,
      when the inquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
      those who trust in their wealth
      and boast of the abundance of their riches?

      Truly no man can redeem another,
      or give to God the ransom of this life,
      for the redemption of their life is costly
      and can never suffice,
      that he should live on forever
      and never see the pit.

      For he shall see it. The wise die, and
      likewise the fool and the stupid must perish
      and leave their wealth to others.
      They believe their homes are forever,
      their dwelling places from age to age,
      and they called lands by their own names.
      Man in his pomp will not remain;
      he is like the beasts that perish.

      This is the destiny of fools;
      and those who approve of their boasts.
      Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
      Death shall be their shepherd,
      and the upright shall rule over them
      when the day of vindication dawns.
      Sheol shall consume their wealth,
      which will no longer abide.
      But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
      for he will receive me.

      Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
      when the glory of his house increases.
      For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
      his glory will not go down after him.
      For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed
      ---and though you get praise when you do well for yourself---
      his soul will go to the generation of his fathers,
      who will never again see light.
      Man in his pomp yet without understanding
      is like the beasts that perish.