Psalm 49-51

New American Standard Bible

The Foolishness of Trusting in Riches.

For the music director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

49 ^(A)Hear this, all peoples;
Listen, all ^(B)inhabitants of the world,
²Both ^(C)low and high,
Rich and poor together.
³My mouth will ^(D)speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart will be ^(E)understanding.
⁴I will incline my ear to ^(F)a proverb;
^(G)I will ^[a]express my ^(H)riddle on the harp.

⁵Why should I ^(I)fear in days of adversity,
When the injustice of those who betray me surrounds me,
⁶Those who ^(J)trust in their wealth
And boast in the abundance of their riches?
⁷No one can by any means ^(K)redeem another
Or give God a ^(L)ransom for him—
⁸For ^(M)the redemption of ^[b]his soul is priceless,
And he should cease imagining forever—
⁹That he might ^(N)live on eternally,
That he might not ^[c]^(O)undergo decay.

¹⁰For he sees that even ^(P)wise people die;
The ^(Q)foolish and the stupid alike perish
And ^(R)leave their wealth to others.
¹¹Their ^[d]^(S)inner thought is that their houses ^(T)are forever
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have ^(U)named their lands after their own names.
¹²But ^(V)man in his splendor will not endure;
He is like the animals that ^[e]perish.

¹³This is the ^(W)way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who ^(X)approve their words. Selah
¹⁴Like sheep they sink down ^(Y)to ^[f]Sheol;
Death will be their shepherd;
And the ^(Z)upright will rule over them in the morning,
And their form shall be for ^[g]Sheol ^(AA)to consume
^[h]So that they have no lofty home.
¹⁵But God will ^(AB)redeem my soul from the ^[i]power of ^[j]Sheol,
For ^(AC)He will receive me. Selah

¹⁶Do not be afraid ^(AD)when a person becomes rich,
When the splendor of his house is increased;
¹⁷For when he dies, he will ^(AE)take nothing with him;
His ^[k]wealth will not descend after him.
¹⁸Though while he lives he ^(AF)congratulates ^[l]himself—
And though people praise you when you do well for yourself—
¹⁹^[m]He will ^(AG)go to the generation of his fathers;
They will never see ^(AH)the light.
²⁰^(AI)Mankind in its splendor, yet without understanding,
Is ^(AJ)like the animals that ^[n]perish.

God, the Judge of the Righteous and the Wicked.

A Psalm of ^[o]Asaph.

50 ^(AK)The Mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken
And summoned the earth, ^(AL)from ^[p]the rising of the sun to its setting.
²Out of Zion, ^(AM)the perfection of beauty,
God ^(AN)has shone.
³May our God ^(AO)come and not keep silent;
^(AP)Fire devours before Him,
And a storm is violently ^(AQ)raging around Him.
⁴He ^(AR)summons the heavens above,
And the earth, to judge His people:
⁵“Gather My ^(AS)godly ones to Me,
Those who have made a ^(AT)covenant with Me by ^(AU)sacrifice.”
⁶And the ^(AV)heavens declare His righteousness,
For ^(AW)God Himself is judge. Selah

⁷“^(AX)Hear, My people, and I will speak;
Israel, I will testify ^[q]against you;
I am God, ^(AY)your God.
⁸I do ^(AZ)not rebuke you for your sacrifices,
And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
⁹I will not take a ^(BA)bull from your house,
Nor male goats from your folds.
¹⁰For ^(BB)every animal of the forest is Mine,
The cattle on a thousand hills.
¹¹I know every ^(BC)bird of the mountains,
And everything that moves in the field is ^[r]Mine.
¹²If I were hungry I would not tell you,
For the ^(BD)world is Mine, and ^[s]everything it contains.
¹³Shall I eat the flesh of ^[t]^(BE)bulls
Or drink the blood of male goats?
¹⁴Offer God ^(BF)a sacrifice of thanksgiving
And ^(BG)pay your vows to the Most High;
¹⁵^(BH)Call upon Me on the day of trouble;
I will ^(BI)rescue you, and you will ^(BJ)honor Me.”

¹⁶But to the wicked God says,
“What right do you have to tell of My statutes
And to take ^(BK)My covenant in your mouth?
¹⁷For you yourself ^(BL)hate discipline,
And you ^(BM)throw My words behind you.
¹⁸When you see a thief, you ^(BN)become friends with him,
And ^[u]you ^(BO)associate with adulterers.
¹⁹You ^[v]^(BP)let your mouth loose in evil,
And your ^(BQ)tongue harnesses deceit.
²⁰You sit and ^(BR)speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
²¹These things you have done and ^(BS)I kept silent;
You thought that I was just like you;
I will ^(BT)rebuke you and present the case before your eyes.

²²“Now consider this, you who ^(BU)forget God,
Or I will ^(BV)tear you in pieces, and there will be no one to save you.
²³He who ^(BW)offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me;
And to him who ^(BX)sets his way properly
I will ^(BY)show the salvation of God.”

A Contrite Sinner’s Prayer for Pardon.

For the music director. A Psalm of David, when ^[w]Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

51 ^(BZ)Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithfulness;
According to the greatness of ^(CA)Your compassion, ^(CB)wipe out my wrongdoings.
²^(CC)Wash me thoroughly from my guilt
And ^(CD)cleanse me from my sin.
³For I ^(CE)know my wrongdoings,
And my sin is constantly before me.
⁴^(CF)Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is ^(CG)evil in Your sight,
So that ^(CH)You ^[x]are justified ^[y]when You speak
And ^[z]blameless when You judge.

⁵Behold, I was ^(CI)brought forth in guilt,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
⁶Behold, You desire ^(CJ)truth in the ^[aa]innermost being,
And in secret You will ^(CK)make wisdom known to me.
⁷^[ab]Purify me ^(CL)with hyssop, and I will be clean;
^[ac]Cleanse me, and I will be ^(CM)whiter than snow.
⁸^[ad]Let me hear ^(CN)joy and gladness,
Let the ^(CO)bones You have broken rejoice.
⁹^(CP)Hide Your face from my sins
And wipe out all my guilty deeds.

¹⁰^(CQ)Create ^[ae]in me a ^(CR)clean heart, God,
And renew a ^(CS)steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹^(CT)Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your ^(CU)Holy Spirit from me.
¹²Restore to me the ^(CV)joy of Your salvation,
And sustain me with a ^(CW)willing spirit.
¹³Then I will ^(CX)teach wrongdoers Your ways,
And sinners will ^[af]be ^(CY)converted to You.

¹⁴Save me from ^(CZ)the guilt of bloodshed, God, ^(DA)the God of my salvation;
Then my ^(DB)tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
¹⁵Lord, ^[ag]^(DC)open my lips,
So that my mouth may ^(DD)declare Your praise.
¹⁶For You ^(DE)do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You do not take pleasure in burnt offering.
¹⁷The sacrifices of God are a ^(DF)broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, God, You will not despise.

¹⁸^(DG)By Your favor do good to Zion;
^[ah]^(DH)Build the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹Then You will delight in ^[ai]^(DI)righteous sacrifices,
In ^(DJ)burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then ^[aj]bulls will be offered on Your altar.