I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle with the harp:
Parallel translations
- WEB I will incline my ear to a proverb. I will open my riddle on the harp.
- KJV I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
- NKJV I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will disclose my dark saying on the harp.
- NASB I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle on the harp.
- NLT I listen carefully to many proverbs and solve riddles with inspiration from a harp.
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
The psalmist listens for a proverb and unfolds his riddle to music. He treats the mystery of life and death as a problem to ponder before God.
Overview
He approaches his theme as a 'proverb' and 'riddle'—a puzzle to be solved—and sets it to the harp, joining instruction with worship. The riddle is the great question of why death claims all and how anyone can escape its power. The answer the psalm gives is that God alone can redeem the soul from death (v. 15).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ps 78:2I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning,
- Matt 13:35So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”
- Num 23:7And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’
- Num 12:8I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
- Luke 12:3What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.
- 2 Cor 3:12Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.
- Matt 13:11–15He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
- Prov 1:6by understanding the proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.
- Ezek 20:49Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, they are saying of me, ‘Is he not just telling parables?’”
- Dan 8:23In the latter part of their reign, when the rebellion has reached its full measure, an insolent king, skilled in intrigue, will come to the throne.
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 49:4 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.