Psalms 49:12

but, despite their wealth, people do not last, ¹  they are like animals ²  that perish. ³ 

But man, despite his riches, does not endure; he is like the beasts that perish.

But man in his pomp will not endure; He is like the beasts that perish.

They will not last long despite their riches––they will die like the animals.

We aren't immortal. We don't last long. Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.

But man, like the animals, does not go on for ever; he comes to an end like the beasts.

Mortals cannot abide in their pomp; they are like the animals that perish.

Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain; He is like the beasts that perish.

but, despite their wealth, people do not last, ¹  they are like animals ²  that perish. ³ 

¹ tn Heb “but mankind in honor does not remain.” The construction vav (ו) + noun at the beginning of the verse can be taken as contrastive in relation to what precedes. The Hebrew term יְקָר (yÿqar, “honor”) probably refers here to the wealth mentioned in the preceding context. The imperfect verbal form draws attention to what is characteristically true. Some scholars emend יָלִין (yalin, “remains”) to יָבִין (yavin, “understands”) but this is an unnecessary accommodation to the wording of v. 20.

² tn Or “cattle.”

³ tn The verb is derived from דָּמָה (damah, “cease; destroy”; BDB 198 s.v.). Another option is to derive the verb from דָּמָה (“be silent”; see HALOT 225 s.v. II דמה, which sees two homonymic roots [דָּמָה, “be silent,” and דָּמָה, “destroy”] rather than a single root) and translate, “they are like dumb beasts.” This makes particularly good sense in v. 20, where the preceding line focuses on mankind’s lack of understanding.