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.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- 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 4:3And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.
- 1 Cor 6:2Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
- Job 30:23For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.
- Job 24:19–20Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which 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 take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
- Rom 8:36As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
- Luke 22:30That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
- Jer 12:3But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.
- Ps 39:11When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah.
- Ps 30:5For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
- Hos 6:3Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.
- Job 17:13–14If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness.
- Isa 38:10–11I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years.
- Ps 44:11Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen.
- Job 21:26They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them.
- Ps 47:3He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet.
- Rev 20:4–5And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
- Rev 2:26–27And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
- Ps 9:17The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
- Eccl 12:7Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
- Job 21:13They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave.
- Job 4:21Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even 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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