Their graves are their eternal homes—their dwellings for endless generations—even though their lands were their namesakes.
Parallel translations
- WEB Their inward thought is that their houses will endure forever, and their dwelling places to all generations. They name their lands after themselves.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever, Their dwelling places to all generations; They call their lands after their own names.
- NASB Their inner thought is that their houses are forever And their dwelling places to all generations; They have named their lands after their own names.
- NLT The grave is their eternal home, where they will stay forever. They may name their estates after themselves,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The wealthy imagine their estates will last forever and name lands after themselves, but this is self-deception. Their permanence is an illusion.
Overview
In their inward thoughts the rich suppose their houses will endure through all generations, even immortalizing their names on their lands. The psalm exposes this as a delusion, since they cannot escape death. The pursuit of earthly legacy apart from God is shown to be vain in light of mortality.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Gen 4:17And Cain had relations with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain built a city and named it after his son Enoch.
- Ps 64:6They devise injustice and say, “We have perfected a secret plan.” For the inner man and the heart are mysterious.
- Ps 5:9For not a word they speak can be trusted; destruction lies within them. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.
- Ezek 38:10This is what the Lord GOD says: On that day, thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will devise an evil plan.
- Ps 10:6He says to himself, “I will not be moved; from age to age I am free of distress.”
- 2 Sam 18:18During his lifetime, Absalom had set up for himself a pillar in the King’s Valley, for he had said, “I have no son to preserve the memory of my name.” So he gave the pillar his name, and to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument.
- Luke 11:39“Now then,” said the Lord, “you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
- Acts 8:22Repent, therefore, of your wickedness, and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for the intent of your heart.
- 1 Sam 15:12Early in the morning Samuel got up to confront Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel, and behold, he has set up a monument for himself and has turned and gone down to Gilgal.”
- Deut 3:14Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites. He renamed Bashan after himself, Havvoth-jair, by which it is called to this day.
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 49:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.