# Psalm 49 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. 
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1. Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, 
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2. both low and high, rich and poor together! 
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3. My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. 
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4. I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre. 
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5. Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, 
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6. those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? 
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7. Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, 
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8. for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, 
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9. that he should live on forever and never see the pit. 
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10. For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. 
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11. Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. 
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12. Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish. 
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13. This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah 
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14. Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell. 
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15. But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah 
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16. Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. 
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17. For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. 
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18. For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself— 
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19. his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. 
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20. Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish. 

(ESV)