Footnotes

1. Psalm 49:14 The psalmist does not condemn riches in themselves but only the attitude of self-sufficiency so often associated with wealth, which then leads to insensitivity, scheming, deception, and arrogance (see Jas 5:1-6) in both the rich and their followers.
2. Psalm 49:15 Like sheep: death has become their shepherd, leading them to the grave. They descend . . . waste away: an alternative text is: “The upright will rule over them in the morning, / and their bodies will waste away.” In the morning: the customary time for eschatological judgments and the triumph of the righteous (see Pss 17:15; 46:5; 101:8; Song 2:17; Isa 17:14).
3. Psalm 49:16 Take me: this is the same Hebrew verb that is used for God “taking up” his favored servants: Enoch (see Gen 5:24), Elijah (see 2 Ki 2:11f), and the righteous person (see Ps 73:24). The psalmist thus harbors the hope that God will rescue the righteous from the grave in some way. This hope will become stronger in Israel, as later Books show (see 2 Mac 7:9f; 12:44f; 14:46; Wis 2:23; 3:9; 6:19; Dan 12:2).