Read & explore together
The Evanescence of Wealth
Psalm 49 is a wisdom song for everyone, rich or poor. It faces a hard question: what can wealth really do when death comes? The poem answers by comparing human pride, riches, death and God’s redeeming power.
Understanding the passage
Read these words in context
This passage speaks to all peoples and all social levels, then presents itself as wisdom, a proverb and a riddle set to music. The speaker asks why he should fear in evil days and explains the limits of riches, the certainty of death and his confidence that God can redeem him from Sheol.
Psalms 49:1–20Main takeaway
Psalm 49 teaches that riches cannot rescue anyone from death, so people need understanding and hope in God rather than confidence in wealth.
Explore the poem and its images
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01A message for everyoneThe psalm opens by calling all peoples to listen, not only one group. Both low and high, rich and poor, are included.
Explanation
The psalm opens by calling all peoples to listen, not only one group. Both low and high, rich and poor, are included. The speaker says he will offer wisdom, understanding, a proverb and a riddle on the harp. This shows the poem is thoughtful teaching, not merely private emotion.
02Wealth cannot buy lifeThe writer asks why he should fear when surrounded by trouble from the wrongdoing near him.
Explanation
The writer asks why he should fear when surrounded by trouble from the wrongdoing near him. He points to people who trust their wealth and boast in riches. Yet none of them can redeem another person or pay God enough to keep someone alive forever and away from corruption.
03Death comes to all, and riches stay behindThe poem observes that wise, foolish and senseless people all die, and they leave their wealth to others.
Explanation
The poem observes that wise, foolish and senseless people all die, and they leave their wealth to others. Some imagine their houses and lands will preserve their name for generations. But the psalm answers plainly that a person with riches still does not endure and perishes like animals.
04Do not fear rising wealthThe psalm describes death as ruling those who are foolish, while their beauty decays in Sheol.
Explanation
The psalm describes death as ruling those who are foolish, while their beauty decays in Sheol. In contrast, the speaker says God will redeem his soul from Sheol and receive him. Therefore others should not be afraid when someone becomes rich, because at death that person carries nothing away.
05Riches need understandingThe poem ends by noting that a person may praise himself in life and gain praise from others for doing well.
Explanation
The poem ends by noting that a person may praise himself in life and gain praise from others for doing well. Still, he goes to the generations before him and does not keep the light. The final line repeats the lesson: riches without understanding end like perishing animals.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01Who is invited to listen at the start of the psalm, and why does that matter for its message?
Notice how the opening includes all peoples and both rich and poor, showing the teaching is universal within the poem.
02According to the psalm, what can wealth not do for a person or his brother?
Look for the lines about redeeming, ransom and living forever.
03What contrast does the psalm make between those who trust riches and the speaker’s confidence?
Compare the decay and loss described for the wealthy with the statement about God redeeming and receiving the speaker.
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
Psalms 49:1–20
1Hear this, all you peoples. Listen, all you inhabitants of the world,
2both low and high, rich and poor together.
3My mouth will speak words of wisdom. My heart will utter understanding.
4I will incline my ear to a proverb. I will solve my riddle on the harp.
5Why should I fear in the days of evil, when iniquity at my heels surrounds me?
6Those who trust in their wealth, and boast in the multitude of their riches—
7none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give God a ransom for him.
8For the redemption of their life is costly, no payment is ever enough,
9that he should live on forever, that he should not see corruption.
10For he sees that wise men die; likewise the fool and the senseless perish, and leave their wealth to others.
11Their inward thought is that their houses will endure forever, and their dwelling places to all generations. They name their lands after themselves.
12But man, despite his riches, doesn’t endure. He is like the animals that perish.
13This is the destiny of those who are foolish, and of those who approve their sayings. Selah.
14They are appointed as a flock for Sheol. Death shall be their shepherd. The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning. Their beauty shall decay in Sheol, far from their mansion.
15But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah.
16Don’t be afraid when a man is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;
17for when he dies he will carry nothing away. His glory won’t descend after him.
18Though while he lived he blessed his soul— and men praise you when you do well for yourself—
19he shall go to the generation of his fathers. They shall never see the light.
20A man who has riches without understanding, is like the animals that perish.