Psalms 48-50

1Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, His holy mountain.

2Beautiful in loftiness, the joy of all the earth, like the peaks of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the great King.

3God is in her citadels; He has shown Himself to be a fortress.

4For behold, the kings assembled; they all advanced together.

5They saw and were astounded; they fled in terror.

6Trembling seized them there, anguish like a woman in labor.

7With a wind from the east You wrecked the ships of Tarshish.

8As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the LORD of Hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish her forever. Selah

9Within Your temple, O God, we contemplate Your loving devotion.

10Your name, O God, like Your praise, reaches to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness.

11Mount Zion is glad, the daughters of Judah rejoice, on account of Your judgments.

12March around Zion, encircle her, count her towers,

13consider her ramparts, tour her citadels, that you may tell the next generation.

14For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even till death.

1Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all inhabitants of the world,

2both low and high, rich and poor alike.

3My mouth will impart wisdom, and the meditation of my heart will bring understanding.

4I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle with the harp:

5Why should I fear in times of trouble, when wicked usurpers surround me?

6They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.

7No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God.

8For the redemption of his soul is costly, and never can payment suffice,

9that he should live on forever and not see decay.

10For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others.

11Their graves are their eternal homes— their dwellings for endless generations— even though their lands were their namesakes.

12But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish.

13This is the fate of the foolish and their followers who endorse their sayings. Selah

14Like sheep they are destined for Sheol. Death will be their shepherd. The upright will rule them in the morning, and their form will decay in Sheol, far from their lofty abode.

15But God will redeem my life from Sheol, for He will surely take me to Himself. Selah

16Do not be afraid when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases.

17For when he dies, he will carry nothing away; his abundance will not follow him down.

18Though in his lifetime he blesses his soul— and men praise you when you prosper—

19he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light of day.

20A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

1The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from where the sun rises to where it sets.

2From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.

3Our God approaches and will not be silent! Consuming fire precedes Him, and a tempest rages around Him.

4He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that He may judge His people:

5“Gather to Me My saints, who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”

6And the heavens proclaim His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge. Selah

7“Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God.

8I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices, and your burnt offerings are ever before Me.

9I have no need for a bull from your stall or goats from your pens,

10for every beast of the forest is Mine— the cattle on a thousand hills.

11I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are Mine.

12If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof.

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

14Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and fulfill your vows to the Most High.

15Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”

16To the wicked, however, God says, “What right have you to recite My statutes and to bear My covenant on your lips?

17For you hate My instruction and cast My words behind you.

18When you see a thief, you befriend him, and throw in your lot with adulterers.

19You unleash your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit.

20You sit and malign your brother; you slander your own mother’s son.

21You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But now I rebuke you and accuse you to your face.

22Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:

23He who sacrifices a thank offering honors Me, and to him who rightly orders his way, I will show the salvation of God.”