The Meaning of Psalms 49:19 Explained

Psalms 49:19

KJV: He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.

YLT: It cometh to the generation of his fathers, For ever they see not the light.

Darby: It shall go to the generation of his fathers: they shall never see light.

ASV: He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see the light.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He shall go  to the generation  of his fathers;  they shall never  see  light. 

What does Psalms 49:19 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 49:19 mean?

He shall go to the generation of his fathers they shall never always never they shall see light
תָּ֭בוֹא עַד־ דּ֣וֹר אֲבוֹתָ֑יו עַד־ נֵ֝֗צַח לֹ֣א יִרְאוּ־ אֽוֹר

תָּ֭בוֹא  He  shall  go 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
דּ֣וֹר  the  generation 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: דֹּור 
Sense: period, generation, habitation, dwelling.
אֲבוֹתָ֑יו  of  his  fathers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
עַד־  they  shall  never 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
נֵ֝֗צַח  always 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: נֵצַח  
Sense: eminence, perpetuity, strength, victory, enduring, everlastingness.
לֹ֣א  never 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יִרְאוּ־  they  shall  see 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
אֽוֹר  light 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: אֹור  
Sense: light.