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48 Unto the end, a psalm for the sons of Core.

Hear these things, all ye nations: give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world.

All you that are earthborn, and you sons of men: both rich and poor together.

My mouth shall speak wisdom: and the meditation of my heart understanding.

I will incline my ear to a parable; I will open my proposition on the psaltery.

Why shall I fear in the evil day? the iniquity of my heel shall encompass me.

They that trust in their own strength, and glory in the multitude of their riches,

No brother can redeem, nor shall man redeem: he shall not give to God his ransom,

Nor the price of the redemption of his soul: and shall labour for ever,

10 And shall still live unto the end.

11 He shall not see destruction, when he shall see the wise dying: the senseless and the fool shall perish together: And they shall leave their riches to strangers:

12 And their sepulchres shall be their houses for ever. Their dwelling places to all generations: they have called their lands by their names.

13 And man when he was in honour did not understand; he is compared to senseless beasts, and is become like to them.

14 This way of theirs is a stumblingblock to them: and afterwards they shall delight in their mouth.

15 They are laid in hell like sheep: death shall feed upon them. And the just shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their help shall decay in hell from their glory.

16 But God will redeem my soul from the hand of hell, when he shall receive me.

17 Be not thou afraid, when a man shall be made rich, and when the glory of his house shall be increased.

18 For when he shall die he shall take nothing away; nor shall his glory descend with him.

19 For in his lifetime his soul will be blessed: and he will praise thee when thou shalt do well to him.

20 He shall go in to the generations of his fathers: and he shall never see light.

21 Man when he was in honour did not understand: he hath been compared to senseless beasts, and made like to them.

Psalm 48[a]

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.

Great is the Lord,(A) and most worthy of praise,(B)
    in the city of our God,(C) his holy mountain.(D)

Beautiful(E) in its loftiness,
    the joy of the whole earth,
like the heights of Zaphon[b](F) is Mount Zion,(G)
    the city of the Great King.(H)
God is in her citadels;(I)
    he has shown himself to be her fortress.(J)

When the kings joined forces,
    when they advanced together,(K)
they saw her and were astounded;
    they fled in terror.(L)
Trembling seized(M) them there,
    pain like that of a woman in labor.(N)
You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish(O)
    shattered by an east wind.(P)

As we have heard,
    so we have seen
in the city of the Lord Almighty,
    in the city of our God:
God makes her secure
    forever.[c](Q)

Within your temple, O God,
    we meditate(R) on your unfailing love.(S)
10 Like your name,(T) O God,
    your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;(U)
    your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11 Mount Zion rejoices,
    the villages of Judah are glad
    because of your judgments.(V)

12 Walk about Zion, go around her,
    count her towers,(W)
13 consider well her ramparts,(X)
    view her citadels,(Y)
that you may tell of them
    to the next generation.(Z)

14 For this God is our God for ever and ever;
    he will be our guide(AA) even to the end.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 48:1 In Hebrew texts 48:1-14 is numbered 48:2-15.
  2. Psalm 48:2 Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites.
  3. Psalm 48:8 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.