Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain; 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.
- KJV Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.
- BSB But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; 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 my heart, “As for the sons of men, God tests them, so that they may see that they themselves are like animals.
- Ps 49:20A man who has riches without understanding, is like the animals that perish.
- Ps 82:7Nevertheless you shall die like men, and fall like one of the rulers.”
- Ps 39:5Behold, you have made my days hand widths. My lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely every man stands as a breath.” Selah.
- Eccl 9:12For man also doesn’t know his time. As the fish that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly on them.
- Jas 1:10–11and the rich, in that he is made humble, because like the flower in the grass, he will pass away.
- 1 Pet 1:24For, “All flesh is like grass, and all of man’s glory like the flower in the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls;
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.