Read
Psalm 49:6
Those who trust in their wealth, and boast in the multitude of their riches—
4I will incline my ear to a proverb. I will solve my riddle on the harp.
5Why should I fear in the days of evil, when iniquity at my heels surrounds me?
6Those who trust in their wealth, and boast in the multitude of their riches—
7none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give God a ransom for him.
8For the redemption of their life is costly, no payment is ever enough,
Notice
Trust and boasting make riches sound like a refuge, yet the next lines expose what even the largest fortune cannot buy.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What kind of security do you expect money to provide, and where does that expectation end?
Write on thisWhose wealth seems impressive to you, and how do the next lines change your view of it?
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
Psalm 62:10Don’t trust in oppression. Don’t become vain in robbery. If riches increase, don’t set your heart on them.Both passages address the heart’s attachment to wealth, with Psalm 62 warning against setting your heart on increasing riches.
1 Timothy 6:17Charge those who are rich in this present age that they not be arrogant, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on the living God, who …Both passages address confidence in riches; Paul warns the wealthy against arrogance and directs their hope toward the living God.
Galatians 6:14But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.Boasting links these passages: the psalm describes boasting in riches, while Paul reserves his boast for the cross of Jesus Christ.
Ezekiel 28:4–5By your wisdom and by your understanding you have gotten yourself riches, and have gotten gold and silver into your treasuries.Both passages describe accumulated riches; Ezekiel names gold and silver, while the psalm names the trust and boasting attached to wealth.
Jeremiah 9:23The LORD says, “Don’t let the wise man glory in his wisdom. Don’t let the mighty man glory in his might. Don’t let the rich man glory in his riches.The psalm describes people boasting in their riches, and Jeremiah forbids the rich man to glory in those riches.
Psalm 52:7“Behold, this is the man who didn’t make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.”Both psalms describe trust in abundant riches; Psalm 52 names the refusal to make God one’s strength.
Proverbs 11:28He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous shall flourish as the green leaf.Trust in riches is the shared phrase and concern; Proverbs states that the person who trusts in wealth will fall.
Hosea 12:8Ephraim said, “Surely I have become rich. I have found myself wealth. In all my wealth they won’t find in me any iniquity that is sin.”Both passages portray boasting about wealth; Ephraim adds the claim that no sin will be found in his wealth.
Psalm 10:3For the wicked boasts of his heart’s cravings. He blesses the greedy and condemns the LORD.Both passages describe boasting, though Psalm 49 names riches and Psalm 10 names the wicked person’s cravings and approval of greed.
Luke 12:19I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.”’Luke’s speaker treats stored goods as security for years of ease, echoing the psalm’s description of trust in wealth.
Mark 10:24The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus answered again, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter into God’s Kingdom!Both passages name trust in riches; Jesus speaks of the difficulty such trust presents for entering God’s Kingdom.
Jeremiah 49:4Why do you boast in the valleys, your flowing valley, backsliding daughter? You trusted in her treasures, saying, ‘Who will come to me?’Both passages link boasting with trust in wealth; Jeremiah describes confidence in treasures as protection against anyone who might come.
Where this verse fits
Envy and comparison. job loss or money fear. death and what comes after.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Someone else’s riches can look like protection against every threat. The next lines set a firm limit: no fortune can pay God the ransom for a life.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 49:6. 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).