Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.
Parallel translations
- WEB But man, despite his riches, doesn’t endure. He is like the animals that perish.
- BSB But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish.
- NKJV Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain; He is like the beasts that perish.
- NASB But man in his splendor will not endure; He is like the animals that perish.
- NLT but their fame will not last. They will die, just like animals.
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
Despite his riches, man does not endure; he is like the animals that perish. Wealth gives no lasting advantage.
Overview
This refrain delivers the psalm's verdict: for all his pomp and possessions, man dies like the beasts. Riches confer no exemption from mortality. The verse humbles human pride, reminding all that life and lasting hope come not from what we own but from God who alone redeems the soul.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Eccl 3:18–21I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
- Ps 49:20Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.
- Ps 82:7But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.
- Ps 39:5Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
- Eccl 9:12For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
- Jas 1:10–11But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
- 1 Pet 1:24For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 49:12 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.