Man in His Pomp Will Not Remain

Man in His Pomp Will Not Remain. Psalm 49

 ¹ Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

 ² both low and high, rich and poor together!

 ³ My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

 ⁴ I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.

 ⁵ Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,

 ⁶ those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?

 ⁷ Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life,

 ⁸ for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice,

 ⁹ that he should live on forever and never see the pit.

 ¹⁰ For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others.

 ¹¹ Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names.

 ¹² Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish.

 ¹³ This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah

 ¹⁴ Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.

 ¹⁵ But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah

 ¹⁶ Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases.

 ¹⁷ For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him.

 ¹⁸ For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed—and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—

 ¹⁹ his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light.

 ²⁰ Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.