ESTUDIO DEL CAPÍTULO
Psalms 49 — Wisdom's Warning Against Trusting Wealth
A wisdom psalm of the sons of Korah that warns all people — rich and poor alike — that no wealth can ransom a soul from death, but God Himself redeems the faithful from Sheol.
Escritura
- 1.Oíd esto, pueblos todos; Escuchad, habitantes todos del mundo,For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Hear this, all ye peoples; Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world,
- 2.Así los plebeyos como los nobles, El rico y el pobre juntamente.Both low and high, Rich and poor together.
- 3.Mi boca hablará sabiduría, Y el pensamiento de mi corazón inteligencia.My mouth shall speak wisdom; And the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
- 4.Inclinaré al proverbio mi oído; Declararé con el arpa mi enigma.I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
- 5.¿Por qué he de temer en los días de adversidad, Cuando la iniquidad de mis opresores me rodeare?Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, When iniquity at my heels compasseth me about?
- 6.Los que confían en sus bienes, Y de la muchedumbre de sus riquezas se jactan,They that trust in their wealth, And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
- 7.Ninguno de ellos podrá en manera alguna redimir al hermano, Ni dar a Dios su rescateNone of them can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him;
- 8.(Porque la redención de su vida es de gran precio, Y no se logrará jamás),(For the redemption of their life is costly, And it faileth for ever;)
- 9.Para que viva en adelante para siempre, Y nunca vea corrupción.That he should still live alway, That he should not see corruption.
- 10.Pues verá que aun los sabios mueren; Que perecen del mismo modo que el insensato y el necio, Y dejan a otros sus riquezas.For he shall see it. Wise men die; The fool and the brutish alike perish, And leave their wealth to others.
- 11.Su íntimo pensamiento es que sus casas serán eternas, Y sus habitaciones para generación y generación; Dan sus nombres a sus tierras.Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, And their dwelling-places to all generations; They call their lands after their own names.
- 12.Mas el hombre no permanecerá en honra; Es semejante a las bestias que perecen.But man being in honor abideth not: He is like the beasts that perish.
- 13.Este su camino es locura; Con todo, sus descendientes se complacen en el dicho de ellos. SelahThis their way is their folly: Yet after them men approve their sayings. [[Selah
- 14.Como a rebaños que son conducidos al Seol, La muerte los pastoreará, Y los rectos se enseñorearán de ellos por la mañana; Se consumirá su buen parecer, y el Seol será su morada.They are appointed as a flock for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; And their beauty shall be for Sheol to consume, That there be no habitation for it.
- 15.Pero Dios redimirá mi vida del poder del Seol, Porque él me tomará consigo. SelahBut God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol; For he will receive me. [[Selah
- 16.No temas cuando se enriquece alguno, Cuando aumenta la gloria de su casa;Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, When the glory of his house is increased.
- 17.Porque cuando muera no llevará nada, Ni descenderá tras él su gloria.For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away; His glory shall not descend after him.
- 18.Aunque mientras viva, llame dichosa a su alma, Y sea loado cuando prospere,Though while he lived he blessed his soul (And men praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself,)
- 19.Entrará en la generación de sus padres, Y nunca más verá la luz.He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see the light.
- 20.El hombre que está en honra y no entiende, Semejante es a las bestias que perecen.Man that is in honor, and understandeth not, Is like the beasts that perish.
Qué significa este pasaje
Psalm 49 opens with a universal summons: every class of humanity, both low and high, rich and poor together, is called to hear wisdom (vv. 1–4). The psalmist positions the speech as a "parable" and "dark saying" opened with the harp, signaling that the following teaching is meant to penetrate beyond surface understanding. The frame is intentionally universal because the danger addressed is one that cuts across every social boundary.
The central argument is that wealth is powerless before death (vv. 5–12). No person can "redeem his brother" or "give to God a ransom for him," because the price of a life is too costly, "and it faileth for ever." The wise, the fool, and the brutish all perish alike and leave their wealth behind. Even those who name lands after themselves imagine their houses continue forever, yet "man being in honor abideth not: He is like the beasts that perish." Honor, without understanding of mortality, reduces a person to the level of perishing animals.
The psalm then turns to a confession of hope (vv. 13–20). The self-confident are appointed like sheep for Sheol, with death as their shepherd. Against this, the speaker declares, "God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol; For he will receive me" (v. 15). The concluding admonition is therefore not to fear when others grow rich, for the wealthy die and their glory cannot follow them. The person "in honor" who "understandeth not" ends like the beasts; the psalm leaves the reader to choose which category they belong to.
Contexto
The psalm is attributed to "the sons of Korah," a Levitical group associated with temple music, and is directed "For the Chief Musician," indicating its liturgical setting. It belongs to the wisdom-teaching tradition of the Psalms, employing instructional forms — direct address, proverb, and confession — rather than lament or thanksgiving. The Selah markings at verses 13 and 15 bracket the movement from the fate of the wealthy to the speaker's confession of redemption.
The chapter's flow mirrors the book's broader movement from human powerlessness to divine rescue. Verses 1–12 establish that death is an equalizer and wealth is no ransom; verses 13–20 then pivot to God's act of receiving the psalmist and reclaiming his soul from Sheol. Within the Psalter, this pairing of mortality and divine redemption forms a recurring pattern across the songs attributed to the sons of Korah.
Palabras clave del original
- H5329 מְנַצֵּ֬חַ (mənaṣṣēḥa) — "director" or "overseer." The term appears in the psalm's superscription "For the Chief Musician," indicating the song was handed to the musical director for temple liturgy.
- H2465 חָֽלֶד (ḥāleḏ) — "world," glossed in the provided data as 'life (as a fleeting portion of time); hence, the world (as transient).' The psalmist calls on 'all ye inhabitants of the world' to hear, framing the audience in terms of life's transience.
- H2454 חָכְמוֹת (ḥāḵəmôṯ) — "wisdom," in the plural form. The psalmist promises, "My mouth shall speak wisdom," signaling the instructional, didactic character of the song that follows.
Versículos relacionados
- Psalms 73:24 Both psalms move from human perplexity or danger to divine reception: "afterward receive me to glory" parallels Psalms 49:15's confession that God will receive the psalmist from Sheol.
- Matthew 16:26 Jesus' question, "what shall a man give in exchange for his life?" restates the psalm's logic: gaining the whole world is futile if one forfeits the soul, because no wealth can pay life's ransom (cf. vv. 7–9).
- Psalms 89:48 The rhetorical question, "What man is he that shall live and not see death, That shall deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?" mirrors the psalm's confession that only God can redeem a soul from Sheol's power.
Preguntas frecuentes
Who are the "sons of Korah" and what is their role in this psalm?
According to the superscription (v. 1), the psalm is by "the sons of Korah," a Levitical group associated with temple music, and the psalm is directed "For the Chief Musician," indicating a liturgical setting. The group functions as the speaker who summons all peoples to hear the wisdom teaching.
Why does the psalm say no one can "redeem his brother" with a ransom?
The psalm argues that the price of a life is too costly for any human to pay (vv. 7–9). Even if one person had enough wealth, the cost of redeeming a soul from death "faileth for ever." This establishes by contrast that only God, who v. 15 says "will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol," can accomplish what money cannot.
What does it mean that "man being in honor abideth not: He is like the beasts that perish"?
The psalmist states that human honor is fragile when it is not grounded in understanding of mortality and God. vv. 12 and 20 both conclude with this comparison: without such understanding, a person of high status ends no differently from perishing animals. The point is not that humans are animals by nature, but that honor without wisdom cannot escape death's equalizing grip.