They are appointed as a flock for Sheol. Death shall be their shepherd. The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning. Their beauty shall decay in Sheol, far from their mansion.
Parallel translations
- KJV Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.
- BSB Like 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.
- NKJV Like sheep they are laid in the grave; Death shall feed on them; The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; And their beauty shall be consumed in the grave, far from their dwelling.
- NASB Like sheep they sink down to Sheol; Death will be their shepherd; And the upright will rule over them in the morning, And their form shall be for Sheol to consume So that they have no lofty home.
- NLT Like sheep, they are led to the grave, where death will be their shepherd. In the morning the godly will rule over them. Their bodies will rot in the grave, far from their grand estates.
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
Those who trust riches are headed for the grave with death as their shepherd, while the upright will ultimately triumph. The roles will be reversed.
Overview
In vivid imagery, the self-secure rich are pictured as a flock driven to Sheol, shepherded by Death itself, their splendor decaying away from their fine houses. Meanwhile the upright 'shall have dominion in the morning,' anticipating a future vindication. This foreshadows the resurrection hope where the righteous, kept by God, inherit lasting life while godless pride perishes.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 23
- Mal 4:3You shall tread down the wicked; for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I make,” says Yahweh of Armies.
- 1 Cor 6:2Don’t you know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
- Job 30:23For I know that you will bring me to death, To the house appointed for all living.
- Job 24:19–20Drought and heat consume the snow waters, so does Sheol those who have sinned.
- Dan 7:22until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
- Dan 7:18But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.
- Rom 8:36Even as it is written, “For your sake we are killed all day long. We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
- Luke 22:30that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. You will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
- Jer 12:3But you, Yahweh, know me; you see me, and try my heart toward you. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.
- Ps 39:11When you rebuke and correct man for iniquity, You consume his wealth like a moth. Surely every man is but a breath.” Selah.
- Ps 30:5For his anger is but for a moment. His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
- Hos 6:3Let us acknowledge Yahweh. Let us press on to know Yahweh. As surely as the sun rises, Yahweh will appear. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain that waters the earth.”
- Job 17:13–14If I look for Sheol as my house, if I have spread my couch in the darkness,
- Isa 38:10–11I said, “In the middle of my life I go into the gates of Sheol. I am deprived of the residue of my years.”
- Ps 44:11You have made us like sheep for food, and have scattered us among the nations.
- Job 21:26They lie down alike in the dust. The worm covers them.
- Ps 47:3He subdues nations under us, and peoples under our feet.
- Rev 20:4–5I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as didn’t worship the beast nor his image, and didn’t receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand. They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
- Rev 2:26–27He who overcomes, and he who keeps my works to the end, to him I will give authority over the nations.
- Ps 9:17The wicked shall be turned back to Sheol, even all the nations that forget God.
- Eccl 12:7and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
- Job 21:13They spend their days in prosperity. In an instant they go down to Sheol.
- Job 4:21Isn’t their tent cord plucked up within them? They die, and that without wisdom.’
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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 49:14 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
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