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Psalm 49:14

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.

12But man, despite his riches, doesn’t endure. He is like the animals that perish.
13This is the destiny of those who are foolish, and of those who approve their sayings. Selah.
14They 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.
15But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah.
16Don’t be afraid when a man is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;
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← Psalm 49:13Psalm 49:15 →
Notice

Death becomes a shepherd here, leading the foolish toward Sheol while their mansions remain behind, exposing how little wealth can protect the life it surrounds.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What changes in your view of wealth when death becomes the shepherd of those who possess it?

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How does the upright having dominion in the morning challenge the power you see around you?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Malachi 4:3You shall tread down the wicked; for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I make,” says the LORD of Armies.The upright having dominion and the wicked becoming ashes underfoot both portray a stark reversal of power.
1 Corinthians 6:2Don’t you know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?The upright exercising dominion shares a thread with the saints judging the world: authority belongs to God's people.
Daniel 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.Both passages describe a reversal toward rule, with the upright gaining dominion and the saints receiving judgment and the kingdom.
Job 24:19–20Drought and heat consume the snow waters, so does Sheol those who have sinned.Sheol is the destination in both texts, associated with bodily decay in the psalm and consumption in Job.
Job 30:23For I know that you will bring me to death, to the house appointed for all living.Both passages speak of an appointed destination in death, beyond the homes and circumstances of present life.
Luke 22:30that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. You will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”Both texts speak of people receiving authority: the upright have dominion, and Jesus' hearers will judge Israel's twelve tribes.
Daniel 7:18But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’The upright gaining dominion and the saints receiving a kingdom share the prospect of rule beyond their present circumstances.
Psalm 30:5For his anger is but for a moment. His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning.Morning marks a change in both psalms: dominion for the upright here, and joy after a night of weeping there.
Romans 8:36Even as it is written, “For your sake we are killed all day long. We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”Both use sheep imagery for people facing death, though Romans describes those suffering for God's sake rather than the foolish.
Psalm 39:11When you rebuke and correct man for iniquity, you consume his wealth like a moth. Surely every man is but a breath.” Selah.Both psalms expose human frailty through images of loss: beauty decays in Sheol, and wealth is consumed like moth damage.
Jeremiah 12:3But you, LORD, know me. You see me, and test my heart toward you. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.Both depict people as sheep headed toward death; Jeremiah asks for slaughter, while the psalm describes death as their shepherd.
Job 21:26They lie down alike in the dust. The worm covers them.Both passages describe bodily decay after death, whether through beauty fading in Sheol or worms covering those in the dust.
Where this verse fits

Death and what comes after. envy and comparison. injustice and anger.

What the Bible says about death →What the Bible says about anger →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

List two limits of what your possessions can secure

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Encouragement

The mansion cannot shelter its owner from Sheol. That is a hard limit. Yet the next verse rests hope in God's power to redeem and receive the psalmist.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 49:14. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 49 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).