Psalms 49:1-9
Psalms 49:1-9 The Message (MSG)
Listen, everyone, listen— earth-dwellers, don’t miss this. All you haves and have-nots, All together now: listen. I set plainspoken wisdom before you, my heart-seasoned understandings of life. I fine-tuned my ear to the sayings of the wise, I solve life’s riddle with the help of a harp. So why should I fear in bad times, hemmed in by enemy malice, Shoved around by bullies, demeaned by the arrogant rich? Really! There’s no such thing as self-rescue, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. The cost of rescue is beyond our means, and even then it doesn’t guarantee Life forever, or insurance against the Black Hole.
Psalms 49:1-9 King James Version (KJV)
Hear this, all ye people; Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: Both low and high, Rich and poor, together. My mouth shall speak of 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 the iniquity of my heels shall compass 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 soul is precious, And it ceaseth for ever:) That he should still live for ever, And not see corruption.
Psalms 49:1-9 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
Hear this, all peoples; Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, Both low and high, Rich and poor together. My mouth will speak wisdom, And the meditation of my heart will be understanding. I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle on the harp. Why should I fear in days of adversity, When the iniquity of my foes surrounds me, Even those who trust in their wealth And boast in the abundance of their riches? No man can by any means redeem his brother Or give to God a ransom for him— For the redemption of his soul is costly, And he should cease trying forever— That he should live on eternally, That he should not undergo decay.
Psalms 49:1-9 New Century Version (NCV)
Listen to this, all you nations; listen, all you who live on earth. Listen, both great and small, rich and poor together. What I say is wise, and my heart speaks with understanding. I will pay attention to a wise saying; I will explain my riddle on the harp. Why should I be afraid of bad days? Why should I fear when evil people surround me? They trust in their money and brag about their riches. No one can buy back the life of another. No one can pay God for his own life, because the price of a life is high. No payment is ever enough. Do people live forever? Don’t they all face death?
Psalms 49:1-9 American Standard Version (ASV)
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 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 corruption.
Psalms 49:1-9 New International Version (NIV)
Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world, both low and high, rich and poor alike: My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the meditation of my heart will give you understanding. I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp I will expound my riddle: Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me— those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them— the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough— so that they should live on forever and not see decay.
Psalms 49:1-9 New King James Version (NKJV)
Hear this, all peoples; Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, Both low and high, Rich and poor together. My mouth shall speak wisdom, And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding. I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will disclose my dark saying on the harp. Why should I fear in the days of evil, When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me? Those who trust in their wealth And boast 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 souls is costly, And it shall cease forever— That he should continue to live eternally, And not see the Pit.
Psalms 49:1-9 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Hear this, all peoples; Listen carefully, all inhabitants of the world, Both low and high, Rich and poor together: My mouth will speak wisdom, And the meditation of my heart will be understanding. I will incline my ear and consent to a proverb; On the lyre I will unfold my riddle. ¶Why should I fear in the days of evil, When the wickedness of those who would betray me surrounds me [on every side], Even those who trust in and rely on their wealth And boast of the abundance of their riches? None of them can by any means redeem [either himself or] his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him— For the ransom of his soul is too costly, And he should cease trying forever— So that he should live on eternally, That he should never see the pit (grave) and undergo decay.
Psalms 49:1-9 New Living Translation (NLT)
Listen to this, all you people! Pay attention, everyone in the world! High and low, rich and poor—listen! For my words are wise, and my thoughts are filled with insight. I listen carefully to many proverbs and solve riddles with inspiration from a harp. Why should I fear when trouble comes, when enemies surround me? They trust in their wealth and boast of great riches. Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death by paying a ransom to God. Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enough to live forever and never see the grave.
Psalms 49:1-9 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Listen, one and all! Both rich and poor together, all over the world— everyone listen to what I have to say! For wisdom will come from my mouth; words of insight and understanding will be heard from the musings of my heart. I will break open mysteries with my music, and my song will release riddles solved. There’s no reason to fear when troubling times come, even when you’re surrounded with problems and persecutors who chase at your heels. They trust in their treasures and boast in their riches, yet not one of them, though rich as a king, could rescue his own brother from the guilt of his sins. No one could give God the ransom price for the soul of another, let alone for himself. A soul’s redemption is too costly and precious for anyone to pay with earthly wealth. The price to pay is never enough to purchase eternal life for even one, to keep them out of hell.
Psalms 49:1-9 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together! My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre. Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, that he should live on forever and never see the pit.