So don’t be dismayed when the wicked grow rich and their homes become ever more splendid.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t be afraid when a man is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;
- KJV Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;
- BSB Do not be amazed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases.
- NKJV Do not be afraid when one becomes rich, When the glory of his house is increased;
- NASB ¶Do not be afraid when a person becomes rich, When the splendor of his house is increased;
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
Do not be intimidated when someone grows rich and his household's splendor increases. Their prosperity is temporary.
Overview
The psalmist counsels against fear or envy when the wicked prosper, a frequent struggle for the faithful. The following verses explain why: such glory cannot survive death. This wisdom guards believers from being unsettled by the apparent advantages of the godless, anchoring their hope in eternal realities.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 37:7Rest in Yahweh, and wait patiently for him. Don’t fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who makes wicked plots happen.
- Ps 37:1By David. Don’t fret because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness.
- Rev 21:26and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it so that they may enter.
- Rev 21:24The nations will walk in its light. The kings of the earth bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.
- Esth 3:1–6After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes who were with him.
- Gen 31:1He heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s. From that which was our father’s, has he gotten all this wealth.”
- Esth 5:11Haman recounted to them the glory of his riches, the multitude of his children, all the things in which the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.
- Prov 28:12When the righteous triumph, there is great glory; but when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.
- Ps 49:5Why should I fear in the days of evil, when iniquity at my heels surrounds me?
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 49:16 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.