49:1 Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all inhabitants of the world, 2 both low and high, rich and poor alike. 3 My mouth will impart wisdom, and the meditation of my heart will bring understanding. 4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle with the harp: 5 Why should I fear in times of trouble, when wicked usurpers surround me? 6 They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches. 7 No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God. 8 For the redemption of his soul is costly, and never can payment suffice, 9 that he should live on forever and not see decay. 10 For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others. 11 Their graves are their eternal homes— their dwellings for endless generations— even though their lands were their namesakes. 12 But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish. 13 This is the fate of the self-confident and their followers who endorse their sayings. Selah 14 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. 15 But God will redeem my life from Sheol, for He will surely take me to Himself. Selah 16 Do not be amazed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases. 17 For when he dies, he will carry nothing away; his abundance will not follow him down. 18 Though in his lifetime he blesses his soul— and men praise you when you prosper— 19 he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light of day. 20 A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

50:1 The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from where the sun rises to where it sets. 2 From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth. 3 Our God approaches and will not be silent! Consuming fire precedes Him, and a tempest rages around Him. 4 He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that He may judge His people: 5 “Gather to Me My saints, who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.” 6 And the heavens proclaim His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge. Selah 7 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God. 8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices, and your burnt offerings are ever before Me. 9 I have no need for a bull from your stall or goats from your pens, 10 for every beast of the forest is Mine— the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are Mine. 12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof. 13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? 14 Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and fulfill your vows to the Most High. 15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.” 16 To the wicked, however, God says, “What right have you to recite My statutes and to bear My covenant on your lips? 17 For you hate My instruction and cast My words behind you. 18 When you see a thief, you befriend him, and throw in your lot with adulterers. 19 You unleash your mouth for evil and unharness your tongue for deceit. 20 You sit and malign your brother; you slander your own mother’s son. 21 You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But now I rebuke you and accuse you to your face. 22 Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you: 23 He who sacrifices a thank offering honors Me, and to him who rights his way, I will show the salvation of God.”

51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge. 5 Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. 6 Surely You desire truth in the inmost being; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from Your presence; take not Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will return to You. 14 Deliver me from bloodguilt, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise. 16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. 18 In Your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices, in whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on Your altar.

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