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 49,6 Ps 49,6
Lo, this is the man that made not God his {Or, stronghold}strength,But trusted in the abundance of his riches,And strengthened himself in his wickedness.
And Haman recounted unto them the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.
Trust not in oppression,And become not vain in robbery:If riches increase, set not your heart thereon.
Thus saith Jehovah, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches;
If I have made gold my hope,And have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;
by thy wisdom and by thine understanding thou hast gotten thee {Or, power}riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures;
If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,And because my hand had gotten much;
by thy great wisdom and by thy traffic hast thou increased thy {Or, power}riches, and thy heart is lifted up because of thy {Or, power}riches; —
The rich man's wealth is his strong city:The destruction of the poor is their poverty.
And Ephraim said, Surely I am become rich, I have found me wealth: in all my labors they shall find in me no iniquity that were sin.
{Or, Wilt thou set thine eyes upon it? it is gone Hebrew: Shall thine eyes fly upon it, and it is not?}Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not?For riches certainly make themselves wings,Like an eagle that flieth toward heaven.
And I will say to my {Or, life}soul, {Or, life}Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry.
And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it {Some ancient authorities omit for them that trust the riches.}for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
Charge them that are rich in this present {Or, age.}world, that they be not highminded, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;