Passage

Psalms 49.7-8

Book: Psalms · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"5. Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, When iniquity at my heels compasseth me about? 6. They that trust in their wealth, And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;"

"7. None of them can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him; 8. (For the redemption of their life is costly, And it faileth for ever;)"

"9. That he should still live alway, That he should not see corruption. 10. For he shall see it. Wise men die; The fool and the brutish alike perish, And leave their wealth to others." (Psalms 49:5-10, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"5. Why should I fear in the days of evil, when iniquity at my heels surrounds me? 6. Those who trust in their wealth, and boast in the multitude of their riches ,"

"7. none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give God a ransom for him. 8. For the redemption of their life is costly, no payment is ever enough,"

"9. that he should live on forever, that he should not see corruption. 10. For he sees that wise men die; likewise the fool and the senseless perish, and leave their wealth to others." (Psalms 49:5-10, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"5. Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about? 6. They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;"

"7. None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: 8. (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)"

"9. That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption. 10. For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others." (Psalms 49:5-10, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"5. Why do I fear in days of evil? The iniquity of my supplanters doth compass me. 6. Those trusting on their wealth, And in the multitude of their riches, Do shew themselves foolish."

"7. A brother doth no one at all ransom, He doth not give to God his atonement. 8. And precious [is] the redemption of their soul, And it hath ceased, to the age."

"9. And still he liveth for ever, He seeth not the pit. 10. For he seeth wise men die, Together the foolish and brutish perish, And have left to others their wealth." (Psalms 49:5-10, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.