Read
Psalm 49:17
for when he dies he will carry nothing away. His glory won’t descend after him.
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;
17for when he dies he will carry nothing away. His glory won’t descend after him.
18Though while he lived he blessed his soul— and men praise you when you do well for yourself—
19he shall go to the generation of his fathers. They shall never see the light.
Notice
The rich man’s glory stops at death, exposing the limit of the wealth and status that can seem so imposing while he lives.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
Whose wealth or status, if anyone’s, makes the warning against fear feel needed?
Write on thisWhat changes in your view of a prized possession when you picture leaving it behind?
Write on thisConnect
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
Mark 8:36For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?Both expose the limits of gain: possessions cannot accompany a person in death or compensate for a forfeited life.
1 Timothy 6:7For we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly can’t carry anything out.Both state the same stark limit on possessions: a person can carry nothing out of this life.
Job 1:21He said, “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked will I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the LORD’s name.”Job’s naked return and the rich man’s empty departure both describe leaving life without the possessions accumulated in it.
Ecclesiastes 5:15As he came out of his mother’s womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, which he may carry away in his hand.Both describe death as a departure in which nothing gained during life can be carried away.
Job 27:19He lies down rich, but he will not do so again. He opens his eyes, and he is not.Both portray a rich man whose wealth cannot prevent his life from coming to an end.
Job 21:23One dies in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet.Both describe death reaching someone whose circumstances in life might appear to offer security.
Job 31:24“If I have made gold my hope, and have said to the fine gold, ‘You are my confidence;’Both concern wealth: the psalm states its limit at death, while Job considers making gold his confidence.
Psalm 49:10For he sees that wise men die; likewise the fool and the senseless perish, and leave their wealth to others.Both describe wealth left behind at death; the earlier line specifies that it passes to others.
Luke 16:24He cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue! For I am in anguish …The connection is limited: the psalm describes glory failing at death, while Luke records a plea for mercy amid anguish.
1 Corinthians 15:43It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.Both speak of glory in relation to death, though Paul describes glory in resurrection and the psalm describes earthly glory ending.
Isaiah 10:3What will you do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth?Both confront the prospect of leaving wealth behind, whether at death or when desolation comes.
Psalm 17:14from men by your hand, LORD, from men of the world, whose portion is in this life. You fill the belly of your cherished ones. Your sons have plenty, and they …Both connect wealth with the bounds of this life; Psalm 17 also describes wealth stored for children.
Where this verse fits
Envy and comparison. death and what comes after. fear for the future.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Another person’s wealth may carry great weight now. Its reach has an end. In the surrounding lines, the writer rests his hope beyond death in God’s power to redeem.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 49:17. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
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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).