Psalms 49:15

But ¹  God will rescue ²  my life ³  from the power ⁴  of Sheol; certainly ⁵  he will pull me to safety. ⁶  (Selah)

But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself. Selah

But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, For He will receive me. Selah.

But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of death. Interlude

But me? God snatches me from the clutch of death, he reaches down and grabs me.

But God will get back my soul; for he will take me from the power of death. (Selah.)

But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah

But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, For He shall receive me. Selah

But ¹  God will rescue ²  my life ³  from the power ⁴  of Sheol; certainly ⁵  he will pull me to safety. ⁶  (Selah)

¹ tn Or “certainly.”

² tn Or “redeem.”

³ tn Or “me.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

⁴ tn Heb “hand.”

⁵ tn Or “for.”

⁶ tn Heb “he will take me.” To improve the poetic balance of the verse, some move the words “from the power of Sheol” to the following line. The verse would then read: “But God will rescue my life; / from the power of Sheol he will certainly deliver me” (cf. NEB).

sn According to some, the psalmist here anticipates the resurrection (or at least an afterlife in God’s presence). But it is more likely that the psalmist here expresses his hope that God will rescue him from premature death at the hands of the rich oppressors denounced in the psalm. The psalmist is well aware that all (the wise and foolish) die (see vv. 7-12), but he is confident God will lead him safely through the present “times of trouble” (v. 5) and sweep the wicked away to their final destiny. The theme is a common one in the so-called wisdom psalms (see Pss 1, 34, 37, 112). For a fuller discussion of the psalmists’ view of the afterlife, see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “A Theology of the Psalms,” A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, 284-88.