{"id":4066,"date":"2016-03-07T21:33:13","date_gmt":"2016-03-08T03:33:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/?p=4066"},"modified":"2024-02-06T15:44:20","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T21:44:20","slug":"psalm-49-1-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/?p=4066","title":{"rendered":"Psalm 49-1-20"},"content":{"rendered":"

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

1 <\/span>Hear this, all peoples;<\/span><\/span><\/em>
\n Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

2\u00a0<\/sup>Both low and high,<\/span><\/em>
\n Rich and poor together.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

3\u00a0<\/sup>My mouth shall speak wisdom,<\/span><\/em>
\n And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

4\u00a0<\/sup>I will incline my ear to a proverb;<\/span><\/em>
\n I will disclose my dark saying on the harp.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

5\u00a0<\/sup>Why should I fear in the days of evil,<\/span><\/em>
\n When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

6\u00a0<\/sup>Those who trust in their wealth<\/span><\/em>
\n And boast in the multitude of their riches,<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

7\u00a0<\/sup>None of them can by any means redeem his brother,<\/span><\/em>
\n Nor give to God a ransom for him \u2014<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

8\u00a0<\/sup>For the redemption of their souls is costly,<\/span><\/em>
\n And it shall cease forever \u2014<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

9\u00a0<\/sup>That he should continue to live eternally,<\/span><\/em>
\n And not see the Pit.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

10\u00a0<\/sup>For he sees wise men die;<\/span><\/em>
\n Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish,<\/span><\/em>
\n And leave their wealth to others.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

11\u00a0<\/sup>Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever,<\/span><\/em>
\n Their dwelling places to all generations;<\/span><\/em>
\n They call their lands after their own names.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

12\u00a0<\/sup>Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain;<\/span><\/em>
\n He is like the beasts that perish.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

13\u00a0<\/sup>This is the way of those who are foolish,<\/span><\/em>
\n And of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

14\u00a0<\/sup>Like sheep they are laid in the grave;<\/span><\/em>
\n Death shall feed on them;<\/span><\/em>
\n The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;<\/span><\/em>
\n And their beauty shall be consumed in the grave, far from their dwelling.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

15\u00a0<\/sup>But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave,<\/span><\/em>
\n For He shall receive me. Selah<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n
\n

16\u00a0<\/sup>Do not be afraid when one becomes rich,<\/span><\/em>
\n When the glory of his house is increased;<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

17\u00a0<\/sup>For when he dies he shall carry nothing away;<\/span><\/em>
\n His glory shall not descend after him.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

18\u00a0<\/sup>Though while he lives he blesses himself<\/span><\/em>
\n (For men will praise you when you do well for yourself),<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

19\u00a0<\/sup>He shall go to the generation of his fathers;<\/span><\/em>
\n They shall never see light.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

20\u00a0<\/sup>A man who is in honor, yet does not understand,<\/span><\/em>
\n Is like the beasts that perish.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

together (v.2) = alike<\/h3>\n

wisdom\/understanding (v.3) \u2014 both plural to indicate fullness and plenty<\/h3>\n

dark saying<\/span> (v.4) \u2014 riddle, enigma<\/h3>\n

heels<\/span> (v.5) = lit. “overreacher,” foes \u2014 from the same Hebrew root as the word for\u00a0 “heels” \u2014 the idea, I think, is “those who tread on me”<\/h3>\n

And it shall cease forever<\/span> (v.8) \u2014 “and he shall cease trying forever” \u2014 the idea being that he should stop trying to redeem his own soul. It can’t be done no matter how long he tries.<\/h3>\n

Verses 5-9 represent one of the most specific and concise biblical declarations of the human dilemma \u2014 to wit: not only that everyone is under the penalty of sin and in need of redemption from eternal (i.e., spiritual) death (which points are also concisely made in, e.g., Ecclesiastes 7:20; Ezekiel 18:4; Daniel 12:2; Romans 3:23<\/a><\/span>; 6:23<\/a><\/span>), but also that no one is in fact able to pay their own soul’s redemption (v.8; or “redemption price” \u2014 much less that of someone else (v.7). \u2014 Wechsler, page 138.<\/span><\/h3>\n

though<\/i> in honor<\/span> (v.12 and 20) \u2014 the idea here seems to be either “despite his wealth,” or “despite his splendor” or … “in spite of his dignity above the rest of creation”<\/h3>\n

The bleakness of the human dilemma is here highlighted even further by focusing on the way of those who are foolish (v.13) \u2014 i.e., those who believe that all the real (i.e., immovable) property that they amass in this life (i.e., the “houses,” “dwelling places,” and “lands” of v.11) will enable their names (also signifying “reputation”) to endure forever, the folly of which thinking was already borne out long ago at Babel, where mankind sought to establish a lasting “name” for themselves with a tower and surrounding city. In the end, their form (v.14; i.e., their souls\/spiritual essence) \u2014 and any “name” attending thereto \u2014 are destined for the terrors of Sheol (v.14) \u2014 these “terrors” referring to the fiery torment and despair at the realization of their eternal condemnation attending unbelievers (i.e., “fools” as biblically defined). \u2014 Wechsler, page 139.<\/span><\/h3>\n

sheep (v.14) \u2014 the idea seems to be that men, like sheep, will be lead to the grave with death as the shepherd<\/h3>\n

grave (v.14) = Sheol itself is not exclusively for the wicked, but is in fact the Old Testament designation for the temporary place to which the souls of all people \u2014 righteous or wicked \u2014 go after death. Within Sheol, however, there is an inviolable distinction between the circumstances, or “place,” of the righteous (i.e., believers) and the wicked (i.e., unbelievers). The wicked, who rejected God’s truth, go to a place in Sheol characterized by “torment” and “flame,” whereas the righteous, who accepted God’s truth, go to a place in Sheol called “Abraham’s Bosom,” which expression connotes peace, rest, and paternal-relational security. \u2014 Wechsler, pages 139-140.<\/span><\/h3>\n

in the morning<\/span> (v.14) \u2014 beyond death, in the resurrection<\/h3>\n

he blesses himself (v.18) \u2014 Luke 12:19: And I will say to my soul, \u201cSoul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

He shall go to the generation of his fathers<\/span> (v.19) \u2014 the idea is that he will join his ancestors in Sheol<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. 1 Hear this, all peoples; Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, 2\u00a0Both low and high, Rich and poor together. 3\u00a0My mouth shall speak wisdom, And the meditation of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-psalms"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4066"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8744,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4066\/revisions\/8744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}