Bible Strands
Psalms 49:13
This is the fate of the foolish and their followers who endorse their sayings. Selah
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses humanity regarding the mortality of the wealthy, framing the folly of self-reliance in the face of death. The words — כֵּסֶל (ke'sel) translates literally as stupidity or foolishness, and זֶה (zeh) means this, pointing directly to the inevitable outcome described. The thread — This theme of divine judgment on worldly wisdom and wealth recurs in Luke 12:20, 1 Corinthians 3:19, and Luke 16:27. Why it lands — The verse demands that readers recognize the certainty of mortality for those who trust in their own understanding, leaving no room for self-deception.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.
Cross-references
- Luke 12:20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’
- 1 Corinthians 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”
- Luke 16:27 ‘Then I beg you, father,’ he said, ‘send Lazarus to my father’s house,
- Jeremiah 44:17 Instead, we will do everything we vowed to do: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and offer drink offerings to her, just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and good things, and we saw no disaster.
- Luke 11:47 Woe to you! For you build tombs for the prophets, but it was your fathers who killed them.