Psalms — Chapter 49
For the leader. Of the Korahites. A psalm.
Hear this, all you peoples;give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
both low and high,rich and poor alike.
My mouth utters wisdom,my speechamy speech Lit. “utterance of my heart”; on leb, cf. 19.15. is full of insight.
I will turn my attention to a theme,set forth my lesson to the music of a lyre.
In time of trouble, why should I fearthe encompassing evil of those who would supplant me—
those who trust in their riches,who glory in their great wealth?
Ah, itbAh, it Or “A brother.” cannot redeem anyone,or pay one’s ransom to God;
the price of life is too high;and so one ceases to be, forever.
Shall anyone live eternally,and never see the grave?
For one sees that the wise die,that the foolish and ignorant both perish,leaving their wealth to others.
Their gravecTheir grave Heb. qirbam, taken with ancient versions and medieval commentators as the equivalent of qibram. is their eternal home,the dwelling-place for all generationsof those once famous on earth.
Mortals do not abide in honor;they are like the beasts that perish.
Such is the fate of those who are self-confident,the end of those pleased with their own talk.dthe end of those pleased with their own talk Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Selah.
Sheeplike they head for Sheol,with Death as their shepherd.The upright shall rule over them at daybreak,and their form shall waste away in Sheoltill its nobility be gone.eand their form … gone Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
But God will redeem my life from the clutches of Sheol,by taking me. Selah.
Do not be afraid when someone else becomes rich,when their household goods increase;
for when they die they can take none of it along;their goods cannot follow them down.
Though they congratulate themselves in their lifetime—“All must admit that you did well by yourself”fAll must admit that you did well by yourself Meaning of Heb. uncertain.—
yet they must join the company of their ancestors,who will never see daylight again.
Mortals do not understand honor;they are like the beasts that perish.
✦ Connected Across Traditions
Divine Compassion & Mercy
Quran 1:1
“In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.”
Luke 6:36
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
Snp 1.8
“As a mother would risk her life to protect her child, her only child, even so should one cultivate a limitless heart with regard to all beings.”
Guru Granth Sahib, Ang 1
“One Universal Creator God. The Name Is Truth. Creative Being Personified. No Fear. No Hatred.”
Impermanence & Letting Go
Dhammapada 20:277
“All conditioned things are impermanent. When one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.”
Tao Te Ching 76
“A man is born gentle and weak. At his death he is hard and stiff. The soft and yielding is the disciple of life.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.”
Bhagavad Gita 2:22
“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.”
The Path to Wisdom
Dhammapada 20:282
“Wisdom springs from meditation; without meditation wisdom wanes.”
Analects 2:11
“If you study the past and use it to understand the present, you are worthy of being a teacher.”
Tao Te Ching 33
“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.”
Quran 39:9
“Are those who know equal to those who do not know?”
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Dhammapada 1:1-2
“Mind is the forerunner of all actions. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow.”
Bhagavad Gita 16:21
“There are three gates to self-destructive hell: lust, anger, and greed. Therefore, one must learn to give these up.”