Psalms 49; Psalms 50

1 Listen to this, all you people! Listen closely, all you citizens of the world—

2 people of every kind, rich and poor alike!

3 My mouth speaks wisdom; my heart's meditation is full of insight.

4 I will pay close attention to a proverb; I will explain my riddle on the lyre.

5 Why should I be afraid in times of trouble, when the wrongdoing of my bullies engulfs me—

6 those people who trust in their fortunes and boast of their fantastic wealth?

7 Wealth? It can't save a single person! It can't pay a life's ransom-price to God.

8 The price to save someone's life is too high— wealth will never be enough—

9 no one can live forever without experiencing the pit.

10 Everyone knows that the wise die too, just like foolish and stupid people do, all of them leaving their fortunes to others.

11 Their graves are their eternal homes, the place they live for all generations, even if they had counties named after them!

12 People won't live any longer because of wealth; they're just like the animals that pass away.

13 That's how it goes for those who are foolish, as well as for those who follow their lead, pleased with their talk. Selah

14 Like sheep, they're headed straight for the grave. Death will be their shepherd— but those who do right in their hearts will rule over them come morning!— their forms wasting away in the grave rather than having some dignified residence.

15 But God will save my life from the power of the grave, because he will take me. Selah

16 Don't be overly impressed when someone becomes rich, their house swelling to fantastic proportions,

17 because when they die, they won't take any of it with them. Their fantastic things won't accompany them down under.

18 Though they consider themselves blessed during their lives, and even thank you when you deal well with them,

19 they too will join the ancestors who've gone ahead; they too will never see the light again.

20 Wealthy people? They just don't understand; they're just like the animals that pass away.

1 From the rising of the sun to where it sets, God, the LORD God, speaks, calling out to the earth.

2 From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines brightly.

3 Our God is coming; he won't keep quiet. A devouring fire is before him; a storm rages all around him.

4 God calls out to the skies above and to the earth in order to judge his people:

5 "Bring my faithful to me, those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice."

6 The skies proclaim his righteousness because God himself is the judge. Selah

7 "Listen, my people, I will now speak; Israel, I will now testify against you. I am God—your God!

8 I'm not punishing you for your sacrifices or for your entirely burned offerings, which are always before me.

9 I won't accept bulls from your house or goats from your corrals

10 because every forest animal already belongs to me, as do the cattle on a thousand hills.

11 I know every mountain bird; even the insects in the fields are mine.

12 Even if I were hungry, I wouldn't tell you because the whole world and everything in it already belong to me.

13 Do I eat bulls' meat? Do I drink goats' blood?

14 Offer God a sacrifice of thanksgiving! Fulfill the promisesyou made to the Most High!

15 Cry out to me whenever you are in trouble; I will deliver you, then you will honor me."

16 But to the wicked God says, "Why do you talk about my laws? Why do you even mention my covenant?

17 You hate discipline, and you toss my words behind your back.

18 You make friends with thieves whenever you see one; you spend your time with adulterers.

19 You set your mouth free to do evil, then harness your tongue to tell lies.

20 You sit around, talking about your own siblings; you find fault with the children of your very own mother.

21 You've done these things and I've kept quiet. You thought I was just like you! But now I'm punishing you; I'm laying it all out, right in front of your face.

22 So consider this carefully, all you who forget God, or I'll rip you to pieces with no one to deliver you:

23 The one who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving is the one who honors me. And it is to the one who charts the correct path that I will show divine salvation."