Psalm 49

⁵ Why should I be afraid when trouble comes?
    Why should I fear when sinners are all around me?
    They are the kind of people who want to take advantage of me.
⁶ They trust in their wealth.
    They brag about how rich they are.
⁷ No one can pay for the life of anyone else.
    No one can give God what that would cost.
⁸ The price for a life is very high.
    No payment is ever enough.
⁹ No one can pay enough to live forever
    and not rot in the grave.

¹⁰ Everyone can see that even wise people die.
    People who are foolish and who have no sense also pass away.
    All of them leave their wealth to others.
¹¹ Their tombs will remain their houses forever.
    Their graves will be their homes for all time to come.
    Naming lands after themselves won’t help either.

¹² Even though people may be very rich, they don’t live on and on.
    They are like the animals. They die.

¹³ That’s what happens to those who trust in themselves.
    It also happens to their followers, who agree with what they say.
¹⁴ They are like sheep and will end up in the grave.
    Death will be their shepherd.
But when honest people come to power, a new day will dawn.
    The bodies of sinners will waste away in the grave.
    They will end up far away from their princely houses.
¹⁵ But God will save me from the place of the dead.
    He will certainly take me to himself.

¹⁶ Don’t get too upset when other people become rich.
    Don’t be troubled when they become more and more wealthy.
¹⁷ They won’t take anything with them when they die.
    Their riches won’t go down to the grave with them.
¹⁸ While they lived, they believed they were blessed.
    People praised them when things were going well for them.
¹⁹ But they will die, like their people of long ago.
    They will never again see the light of life.

²⁰ People who have riches but don’t understand
    are like the animals. They die.