49:1 |
<> Hear this, all you peoples. Listen, all you inhabitants of the world, |
49:2 |
both low and high, rich and poor together. |
49:3 |
My mouth will speak words of wisdom. My heart shall utter understanding. |
49:4 |
I will incline my ear to a proverb. I will open my riddle on the harp. |
49:5 |
Why should I fear in the days of evil, when iniquity at my heels surrounds me? |
49:6 |
Those who trust in their wealth, and boast in the multitude of their riches-- |
49:7 |
none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give God a ransom for him. |
49:8 |
For the redemption of their life is costly, no payment is ever enough, |
49:9 |
That he should live on forever, that he should not see corruption. |
49:10 |
For he sees that wise men die; likewise the fool and the senseless perish, and leave their wealth to others. |
49:11 |
Their inward thought is that their houses will endure forever, and their dwelling places to all generations. They name their lands after themselves. |
49:12 |
But man, despite his riches, doesn't endure. He is like the animals that perish. |
49:13 |
This is the destiny of those who are foolish, and of those who approve their sayings. Selah. |
49:14 |
They are appointed as a flock for Sheol. Death shall be their shepherd. The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning. Their beauty shall decay in Sheol, far from their mansion. |
49:15 |
But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah. |
49:16 |
Don't be afraid when a man is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased. |
49:17 |
For when he dies he shall carry nothing away. His glory shall not descend after him. |
49:18 |
Though while he lived he blessed his soul--and men praise you when you do well for yourself-- |
49:19 |
he shall go to the generation of his fathers. They shall never see the light. |
49:20 |
A man who has riches without understanding, is like the animals that perish. |