The Meaning of Psalms 49:12 Explained

Psalms 49:12

KJV: Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.

YLT: And man in honour doth not remain, He hath been like the beasts, they have been cut off.

Darby: Nevertheless, man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.

ASV: But man being in honor abideth not: He is like the beasts that perish.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Nevertheless man  [being] in honour  abideth  not: he is like  the beasts  [that] perish. 

What does Psalms 49:12 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 49:1-20 - The Folly Of Trusting In Riches
Here is a proclamation worthy of the hearing of all the world. The psalmist is listening to voices unheard by ordinary ears. Be sure to listen to God's voice, and then unfold His dark sayings in music. However dark they may seem in their mystery and awe, they may be uttered in song. See Revelation 15:3-4.
The burden of the psalm is the impotence of wealth. The millionaire cannot prolong the life of his sick child. And even if, like Queen Elizabeth, he cries on his dying bed: "A million of money for a moment of time!" the sand passes unheeding through the hour-glass. He must leave stocks and shares, jewels and gold, at the summons of Death, described in Psalms 49:14 as the shepherd who calls his flock to fold it in Sheol, R.V. How different the lot of the righteous! As eternity dawns, they are redeemed from the power of the grave and pass to the bosom of God. What are the riches and glory of this world compared with the sense of God's presence in the humble and contrite heart! To have that is to have the essence of all! "Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee," Psalms 73:25. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 49

1  An earnest persuasion to build the faith of resurrection
16  Worldly prosperity is not to be admired

What do the individual words in Psalms 49:12 mean?

And nevertheless man [though] in honor not does remain He is like the beasts [that] perish
וְאָדָ֣ם בִּ֭יקָר בַּל־ יָלִ֑ין נִמְשַׁ֖ל כַּבְּהֵמ֣וֹת נִדְמֽוּ

וְאָדָ֣ם  And  nevertheless  man 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדָם 
Sense: man, mankind.
בִּ֭יקָר  [though]  in  honor 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְקָר  
Sense: price, value, preciousness, honour, splendour, pomp.
יָלִ֑ין  does  remain 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: לוּן 
Sense: to lodge, stop over, pass the night, abide.
נִמְשַׁ֖ל  He  is 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָשַׁל 
Sense: to represent, liken, be like.
כַּבְּהֵמ֣וֹת  like  the  beasts 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, feminine plural
Root: בְּהֵמָה  
Sense: beast, cattle, animal.
נִדְמֽוּ  [that]  perish 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: דָּמָה 
Sense: to cease, cause to cease, cut off, destroy, perish.