Psalms 49:9

9 that he should still live for ever and not see corruption.

Psalms 49:9 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 49:9

That he should still live for ever
Or "though he should live" F23. Though the rich man should live ever so long, a thousand years twice told, as in ( Ecclesiastes 6:6 ) ; yet he could not in all this time, with all his riches, redeem his brother; and at last must die himself, and so must his brother too, as his own experience and observation may assure him, ( Psalms 49:10 ) . Or the meaning is, he cannot so redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom for him, that he should live a corporeal life for ever, and never die; since all men die, wise men and fools, rich and poor; and much less that he should live and enjoy an "eternal life", as the Targum; a life of happiness and bliss hereafter, which is not to be obtained by gold and silver, but is the pure gift of God;

[and] not see corruption;
the grave, the pit of corruption, the house appointed for all living: or "the judgment of hell", according to the Chaldee paraphrase.


FOOTNOTES:

F23 (yhyw) "etiamsi vivat", Gejerus.

Psalms 49:9 In-Context

7 none of them can by any means ransom his brother, nor give God an atonement for him;
8 (for the redemption of their soul is of great price, and they shall never pay it)
9 that he should still live for ever and not see corruption.
10 For he sees that all the wise men die, likewise the fool and the ignorant perish and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their inward thought is that their houses are eternal and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010