Limitless Word
For the redemption of his soul is priceless, And he should cease imagining forever—
Psalms 49:8 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB For the redemption of their life is costly, no payment is ever enough,
  • KJV (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)
  • BSB For the redemption of his soul is costly, and never can payment suffice,
  • NKJV For the redemption of their souls is costly, And it shall cease forever—
  • NLT Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enough

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 price to redeem a human life is so costly that no payment could ever suffice. Salvation is beyond human purchase.

Overview

The redemption of a soul is 'costly'—so much so that no earthly payment can ever be enough. This deepens the previous verse: the problem is not merely that people lack funds, but that no amount could buy life from death. Scripture's answer is that only the precious blood of Christ, not silver or gold, can redeem (1 Peter 1:18-19).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 2

  • Matt 16:26For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life?
  • Job 36:18–19Don’t let riches entice you to wrath, neither let the great size of a bribe turn you aside.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 49:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 49:8 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.