# Psalm 49 📖: Riches Cannot Redeem
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#💬 Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#📂 Internal Notes]]
## 📜 Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
## For the music director, a psalm by the Korahites.
[[#Verse 01.]] Listen to this, all you nations.
Pay attention, all you inhabitants of the world.
[[#Verse 02.]] Pay attention, all you people,
both rich and poor.
[[#Verse 03.]] I will declare a wise saying;
I will share my profound thoughts.
[[#Verse 04.]] I will learn a song that imparts wisdom;
I will then sing my insightful song to the accompaniment of a harp.
[[#Verse 05.]] Why should I be afraid in times of trouble,
when the sinful deeds of deceptive men threaten to overwhelm me?
[[#Verse 06.]] They trust in their wealth
and boast in their great riches.
[[#Verse 07.]] Certainly a man cannot rescue his brother;
he cannot pay God an adequate ransom price
[[#Verse 08.]] (the ransom price for a human life is too high,
and people go to their final destiny),
[[#Verse 09.]] so that he might continue to live forever
and not experience death.
[[#Verse 10.]] Surely one sees that even wise people die;
fools and spiritually insensitive people all pass away
and leave their wealth to others.
[[#Verse 11.]] Their grave becomes their permanent residence,
their eternal dwelling place.
They name their lands after themselves,
[[#Verse 12.]] but, despite their wealth, people do not last.
They are like animals that perish.
[[#Verse 13.]] This is the destiny of fools,
and of those who approve of their philosophy. (Selah)
[[#Verse 14.]] They will travel to Sheol like sheep,
with death as their shepherd.
The godly will rule over them when the day of vindication dawns.
Sheol will consume their bodies, and they will no longer live in impressive houses.
[[#Verse 15.]] But God will rescue my life from the power of Sheol;
certainly he will pull me to safety. (Selah)
[[#Verse 16.]] Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich
and his wealth multiplies.
[[#Verse 17.]] For he will take nothing with him when he dies;
his wealth will not follow him down into the grave.
[[#Verse 18.]] He pronounces this blessing on himself while he is alive:
“May men praise you, for you have done well.”
[[#Verse 19.]] But he will join his ancestors;
they will never again see the light of day.
[[#Verse 20.]] Wealthy people do not understand;
they are like animals that perish.
## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Psalm 49 is a wisdom psalm, closer in style to Proverbs and Ecclesiastes than to a hymn or lament.
2. It is addressed to all people, rich and poor (49:1-2), rather than to Israel alone.
3. The writer calls his teaching a "riddle" set to the music of the lyre (49:4).
4. The refrain about people perishing like animals appears twice (49:12, 20), with a small but important change in wording.
5. The verb "take" in 49:15 is the same word used when God "took" Enoch (Genesis 5:24).
6. Sheol is the Old Testament word for the realm of the dead.
7. Naming lands after themselves (49:11) was a common way the wealthy tried to be remembered.
8. The psalm has the same message as Jesus' parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:16-21).
9. The word for "ransom" (49:7) is *kofer*, also used for a payment that saves a life (Exodus 21:30).
10. It is a psalm of the sons of Korah.
## 🧠 Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the ransom no one else could pay. No one can redeem another's life with money (49:7-8), but Jesus gave His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45) and redeems us from the power of death (49:15).
## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## 💬 Discussion Questions
1. The psalmist says no one can buy back a life from God (49:7-9). Why do people still try to find security in wealth?
2. He compares people who trust in riches to animals that perish (49:12, 20). What makes someone truly wise?
3. He trusts that God will rescue him from the power of Sheol (49:15). How does the hope of eternal life change how you view money?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- 📖 verses 7-8: No one can redeem the life of another or pay God a ransom for him.
- 📖 verse 15: God will rescue my life from the power of Sheol and take me to Himself.
- 📖 verses 16-17: Do not be afraid when others grow rich, for they take nothing with them when they die.
## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference
- 🔗 [[Mark 10#Verse 45.|Mark 10:45]] - The Son of Man came to give His life as a ransom.
- 🔗 [[Luke 12#Verse 16.|Luke 12:16-21]] - The parable of the rich fool.
- 🔗 [[Mark 08#Verse 36.|Mark 8:36-37]] - What can a person give in exchange for his soul?
- 🔗 [[1 Timothy 06#Verse 07.|1 Timothy 6:7]] - We brought nothing into the world and can take nothing out.
- 🔗 [[Ecclesiastes 05#Verse 15.|Ecclesiastes 5:15]] - As he came, so he goes.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
📝 SOAP: [[Psalm 49- SOAP|Have Something that Lasts Beyond Death]]
## 📂 Internal Notes