Psalms 49:9

9 Life forever, or insurance against the Black Hole.

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 Really! There's no such thing as self-rescue, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.
8 The cost of rescue is beyond our means, and even then it doesn't guarantee
9 Life forever, or insurance against the Black Hole.
10 Anyone can see that the brightest and best die, wiped out right along with fools and dunces.
11 They leave all their prowess behind, move into their new home, The Coffin, The cemetery their permanent address. And to think they named counties after themselves!
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.