Psalm 49:15 kjv
But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.
Psalm 49:15 nkjv
But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, For He shall receive me. Selah
Psalm 49:15 niv
But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself.
Psalm 49:15 esv
But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah
Psalm 49:15 nlt
But as for me, God will redeem my life.
He will snatch me from the power of the grave. Interlude
Psalm 49 15 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| God as Redeemer from Death/Sheol | ||
| Hos 13:14 | "I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from Death..." | Direct prophecy of God's redemptive power |
| Ps 16:10 | "For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption." | Hope for divine preservation from grave |
| Ps 86:13 | "For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol." | God's love redeems from death's grasp |
| Ps 30:3 | "O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you have kept me alive..." | Deliverance from the edge of Sheol |
| Job 33:28 | "He has redeemed my soul from going down to the pit..." | God's rescue from destructive paths |
| God Receiving Believers | ||
| Gen 5:24 | "Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him." | God 'taking' a person directly to Himself |
| 2 Ki 2:11 | "And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." | God 'taking' a person bodily |
| Ps 73:24 | "You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory." | Promise of future glory with God |
| John 14:3 | "I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." | Jesus' promise to receive believers |
| Phil 1:23 | "I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better." | Believers' desire to be with Christ |
| 2 Cor 5:8 | "...we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord." | Being received into the Lord's presence |
| 1 Thes 4:17 | "...we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them... to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will always..." | Being caught up to meet the Lord |
| Futility of Wealth vs. Divine Salvation | ||
| Ps 49:6-7 | "those who trust in their wealth and boast in the abundance... can by no means redeem anyone..." | Immediate context: wealth cannot redeem |
| Ps 49:17 | "For when he dies he will carry nothing away..." | Wealth's ultimate irrelevance |
| Prov 11:4 | "Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death." | Righteousness, not riches, delivers |
| Lk 12:15-21 | Parable of the Rich Fool: life does not consist of possessions; God calls the wealthy foolish. | Trusting in riches leads to ruin |
| 1 Tim 6:7 | "for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world." | Inherent limitation of earthly possessions |
| Jer 9:23-24 | "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom... but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me..." | Knowing God is true boasting |
| New Testament Fulfillment/Victory in Christ | ||
| 1 Cor 15:54-57 | "Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting?" | Christ's ultimate triumph over death |
| Acts 2:24, 31 | "God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death... Nor did his flesh see corruption." (quoting Ps 16) | Resurrection of Jesus, conquering death |
| Rev 1:18 | "I am the living one. I died, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades." | Christ's authority over death and Hades |
| Heb 2:14-15 | "...through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who..." | Jesus destroys death's power |
Psalm 49 verses
Psalm 49 15 Meaning
Psalm 49:15 declares a profound truth contrasting the ultimate end of those who trust in their earthly riches with the enduring hope of the righteous. While worldly wealth cannot ransom a soul from death or the grave, this verse asserts God's unique power to deliver the psalmist from the dominion of Sheol, the realm of the dead. The psalmist expresses unwavering faith that God will not abandon him to this universal fate, but will instead personally 'receive' him into His own presence, signaling a destiny beyond mere physical survival—one of spiritual preservation and intimate fellowship with the Divine, breaking the ordinary chains of death and decay.
Psalm 49 15 Context
Psalm 49 is a Maskil, a wisdom psalm, addressed to all mankind, warning against the illusion of earthly security derived from wealth and status. The psalm critiques those who trust in their riches (Ps 49:6-7), showing that such wealth offers no ransom for a life from death or divine judgment (Ps 49:7-9). It emphasizes that rich and poor alike face the same fate: they die and descend into Sheol (Ps 49:10-12), becoming forgotten despite their fleeting splendor (Ps 49:13-14). In this context, verse 15 emerges as a stark and hopeful contrast, asserting God's ability to defy this universal end for those who belong to Him. It implicitly challenges the common ancient Near Eastern worldview where death's grasp was seen as inescapable, proclaiming a unique divine intervention for the righteous, providing true redemption and life beyond Sheol that wealth can never provide.
Psalm 49 15 Word analysis
- But God (וְאֱלֹהִים - v'Elohim): The initial "But" introduces a powerful contrast. While human beings cannot redeem themselves (as Ps 49:7-9 makes clear), "God"—Elohim, the mighty Creator and sovereign Ruler—can and will. This emphasizes divine omnipotence against human impotence. It underscores that true hope lies solely in God, not in any earthly provision or power.
- will redeem (יִפְדֶּה - yipdeh from root פָדָה - padah): This verb means "to ransom," "to buy back," or "to deliver." It implies a transfer of ownership or liberation from bondage, often at a cost. In biblical terms, padah is used for Israel's redemption from Egyptian slavery (Ex 15:13), but also for deliverance from distress or death. Here, it signifies a decisive act of God's power to liberate from Sheol's grip, suggesting an intervention beyond natural processes, possibly involving a victory over the powers of death.
- my soul (נַפְשִׁי - naphshi): Naphsh refers not merely to a disembodied spirit, but to the entire living person, the life principle, the very self. The psalmist expresses personal, holistic salvation. It signifies that God redeems the individual in their totality, not just a part, from the finality of death.
- from the power of Sheol (מִיַּד שְׁאוֹל - miyyad Sh'ol): Literally, "from the hand of Sheol." "Hand" (יָד - yad) signifies authority, grip, or control. Sheol, the common grave or underworld where all the dead reside in Hebrew thought, is here personified as having a powerful grasp. This phrase expresses God's rescue from Sheol's dominion, suggesting an escape from its permanent hold and the decaying processes it represents. This challenges the prevailing understanding of death as an irreversible journey to a shadowy realm.
- for he will receive me (כִּי יִקָּחֵנִי - ki yiqqacheni): "For" (ki) introduces the reason or consequence of the redemption. "Will receive me" (yiqqacheni from the root לָקַח - laqach, 'to take' or 'to receive'). This phrase is highly significant. In the Hebrew Bible, this specific 'taking' by God implies being transported into God's immediate presence without experiencing the normal course of death, echoing Enoch (Gen 5:24, "God took him") and Elijah (2 Ki 2:10, taken up). It points to a unique, intimate reception into God's presence, signifying not just a temporary reprieve from death, but a definitive destiny with God, implying eternal life or a post-death state in divine fellowship. It directly contrasts with "going down to Sheol," emphasizing an upward, divine ascension.
Psalm 49 15 Bonus section
The phrase "he will receive me" (כִּי יִקָּחֵנִי) points to a developing understanding of the afterlife in Old Testament theology. While the default human experience was a descent into Sheol, narratives like Enoch and Elijah provided exceptional precedents of being 'taken' directly by God, circumventing the common grave. Psalm 49:15 suggests this extraordinary destiny could be a hopeful reality for the righteous psalmist. This verse has been interpreted eschatologically, predicting not just spiritual survival but eventual resurrection, especially in light of the New Testament revelation concerning Christ's victory over death and the bodily resurrection of believers. It stands as a beacon of hope against the prevailing ancient belief in the inescapable and often desolate realm of the dead, affirming God's power over mortality for His covenant people.
Psalm 49 15 Commentary
Psalm 49:15 serves as the pivot and theological climax of a psalm otherwise lamenting the inevitability of death for all, especially those who foolishly trust in earthly wealth. Against the backdrop of wealth's ultimate inadequacy to redeem from the grave, this verse powerfully asserts God's exclusive ability and will to intervene in the human condition of mortality. The redemption here is not merely a deferral of death but a victory over Sheol's power, signifying that the believer's final destiny is not absorption into the bleak underworld but translation or reception into God's presence. This deep truth provides a profound contrast between the temporal fate of the wealthy unrighteous—whose path leads definitively down to Sheol—and the eternal hope of the righteous, whom God actively 'takes up' to Himself. This foreshadows later biblical teachings on resurrection and eternal life in the presence of the Lord, affirming a glorious alternative to the common human descent into the grave.