Chapter 49

  For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Hear this, all ye peoples; Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world,  

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  Both low and high, Rich and poor together.  

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  My mouth shall speak wisdom; And the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.  

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  I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.  

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  Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, When iniquity at my heels compasseth me about?  

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  They that trust in their wealth, And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;  

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  None [of them] can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him;  

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  (For the redemption of their life is costly, And it faileth for ever;)  

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  That he should still live alway, That he should not see corruption.  

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  For he shall see it. Wise men die; The fool and the brutish alike perish, And leave their wealth to others.  

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  Their inward thought is, [that] their houses [shall continue] for ever, [And] their dwelling-places to all generations; They call their lands after their own names.  

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  But man [being] in honor abideth not: He is like the beasts that perish.  

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  This their way is their folly: Yet after them men approve their sayings. Selah  

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  They are appointed as a flock for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; And their beauty shall be for Sheol to consume, That there be no habitation for it.  

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  But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol; For he will receive me. Selah  

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  Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, When the glory of his house is increased.  

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  For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away; His glory shall not descend after him.  

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  Though while he lived he blessed his soul (And men praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself,)  

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  He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see the light.  

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  Man that is in honor, and understandeth not, Is like the beasts that perish.   

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