Psalm 49 · a question people ask
"For he sees that wise men die; likewise the fool and the senseless perish" (49:10). If everyone dies, what difference does wisdom make?
The psalm says plainly that the wise die too (49:10), and it doesn't take that back. It also says who it is warning. "This is the destiny of those who are foolish, and of those who approve their sayings" (49:13) comes after those whose "inward thought is that their houses will endure forever" (49:11), and after the refrain (49:12). It says, "The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning" (49:14), and doesn't say which morning. And its last line names the man it means: "A man who has riches without understanding, is like the animals that perish" (49:20). The psalm opens by offering "words of wisdom" and "understanding" (49:3). So it doesn't say wisdom keeps anyone from dying. It says that the man with riches and without understanding is like the animals that perish (49:20), and it sets the psalmist's own hope in God, not in wealth: "But God will redeem my soul" (49:15).
The verses
“My mouth will speak words of wisdom. My heart will utter understanding.”
“Those who trust in their wealth, and boast in the multitude of their riches—”
“A man who has riches without understanding, is like the animals that perish.”