Psalms 49; Psalms 50

1 Hear this, everyone! Listen, all people everywhere,

2 great and small alike, rich and poor together.

3 My thoughts will be clear; I will speak words of wisdom.

4 I will turn my attention to proverbs and explain their meaning as I play the harp.

5 I am not afraid in times of danger when I am surrounded by enemies,

6 by evil people who trust in their riches and boast of their great wealth.

7 We can never redeem ourselves; we cannot pay God the price for our lives,

8 because the payment for a human life is too great. What we could pay would never be enough

9 to keep us from the grave, to let us live forever.

10 Anyone can see that even the wise die, as well as the foolish and stupid. They all leave their riches to their descendants.

11 Their graves are their homes forever; there they stay for all time, though they once had lands of their own.

12 Our greatness cannot keep us from death; we will still die like the animals.

13 See what happens to those who trust in themselves, the fate of those who are satisfied with their wealth -

14 they are doomed to die like sheep, and Death will be their shepherd. The righteous will triumph over them, as their bodies quickly decay in the world of the dead far from their homes.

15 But God will rescue me; he will save me from the power of death.

16 Don't be upset when someone becomes rich, when his wealth grows even greater;

17 he cannot take it with him when he dies; his wealth will not go with him to the grave.

18 Even if someone is satisfied with this life and is praised because he is successful,

19 he will join all his ancestors in death, where the darkness lasts forever.

20 Our greatness cannot keep us from death; we will still die like the animals.

1 The Almighty God, the Lord, speaks; he calls to the whole earth from east to west.

2 God shines from Zion, the city perfect in its beauty.

3 Our God is coming, but not in silence; a raging fire is in front of him, a furious storm around him.

4 He calls heaven and earth as witnesses to see him judge his people.

5 He says, "Gather my faithful people to me, those who made a covenant with me by offering a sacrifice."

6 The heavens proclaim that God is righteous, that he himself is judge.

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

8 I do not reprimand you because of your sacrifices and the burnt offerings you always bring me.

9 And yet I do not need bulls from your farms or goats from your flocks;

10 all the animals in the forest are mine and the cattle on thousands of hills.

11 All the wild birds are mine and all living things in the fields.

12 "If I were hungry, I would not ask you for food, for the world and everything in it is mine.

13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?

14 Let the giving of thanks be your sacrifice to God, and give the Almighty all that you promised.

15 Call to me when trouble comes; I will save you, and you will praise me."

16 But God says to the wicked, "Why should you recite my commandments? Why should you talk about my covenant?

17 You refuse to let me correct you; you reject my commands.

18 You become the friend of every thief you see, and you associate with adulterers.

19 "You are always ready to speak evil; you never hesitate to tell lies.

20 You are ready to accuse your own relatives and to find fault with them.

21 You have done all this, and I have said nothing, so you thought that I am like you. But now I reprimand you and make the matter plain to you.

22 "Listen to this, you that ignore me, or I will destroy you, and there will be no one to save you.

23 Giving thanks is the sacrifice that honors me, and I will surely save all who obey me."