For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
Hear this, all ye peoples;
Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world,
Both low and high,
Rich and poor together.
My mouth shall speak wisdom;
And the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
I will incline mine ear to a parable:
I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil,
When {Or, the iniquity of them that would supplant me compasseth me about, Even of them that trust…riches?}iniquity at my heels compasseth me about?
They that trust in their wealth,
And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
Nor give to God a ransom for him;
(For the redemption of their life is costly,
And it faileth for ever),
That he should still live alway,
That he should not see {Or, the pit}corruption.
For {Or, he seeth that wise men &c.}he shall see it. Wise men die;
The fool and the brutish alike perish,
And leave their wealth to others.
Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever,
And their dwelling-places to all generations;
They call their lands after their own names.
But man being in honor abideth not:
He is like the beasts that perish.
This {Or, is the way of them that are foolish}their way is {Or, their confidence: and after &c.}their folly:
Yet after them men approve their sayings. [Selah
They are appointed as a flock for Sheol;
Death shall be their shepherd;
And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;
And their beauty shall be for Sheol to consume,
That there be no habitation for it.
But God will redeem my soul from the {Hebrew: hand.}power of Sheol;
For he will receive me. [Selah
Be not thou afraid when one is made rich,
When the {Or, wealth}glory of his house is increased:
For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away;
His glory shall not descend after him.
Though while he lived he blessed his soul
(And men praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself),
{Hebrew: Thou shall go, or, It shall go.}He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
{Or, Who never more see}They shall never see the light.
Man that is in honor, and understandeth not,
Is like the beasts that perish.
Querverweise zu Psalm 49,4 Ps 49,4
I will open my mouth in a parable;I will utter dark sayings of old,
And he took up his parable, and said,From Aram hath Balak brought me,The king of Moab from the mountains of the East:Come, curse me Jacob,And come, {Hebrew: be worth against.}defy Israel.
To understand a proverb, and {Or, an interpretation}a figure,The words of the wise, and their {Or, riddles}dark sayings.
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, {Psalm 78:2.}I will open my mouth in parables;I will utter things hidden from the foundation {Many ancient authorities omit of the world.}of the world.
Then said I, Ah Lord Jehovah! they say of me, Is he not a speaker of parables?
And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
And he answered and said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath.
Therefore speak I to them in parables; because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
And unto them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, {Isaiah 6:9, 10.}By hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise understand;And seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive:
For this people's heart is waxed gross,And their ears are dull of hearing,And their eyes they have closed;Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes,And hear with their ears,And understand with their heart,And should turn again,And I should heal them.
Wherefore whatsoever ye have said in the darkness shall be heard in the light; and what ye have spoken in the ear in the inner chambers shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness of speech,