Psalms 49:9

Psa 49:9 That he should still live for ever, [and] not see corruption.

Ver. 9. That he should still live for ever] As every wicked man would, if it might be had for money; for he knoweth no happiness but to have and to hold; on the other side of the grave he looketh for no good; whereas a godly man holdeth mortality a mercy, as Php 1:23, he hath Mortem in desiderio et vitam in patientia, as Fulgentius saith, he desireth to die, and yet is content to live; accepting of life rather than affecting it, enduring it rather than desiring it.

And not see corruption] Heb. the pit of corruption. The Chaldee understandeth it as hell; to the which the wicked man’s death is as a trap door.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10. (Psa 49:9). That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption. The form of the first verb in Hebrew shews that this is a dependent sentence, to be immediately connected, as some think, with the ninth verse: "he cannot even redeem a brother, a man cannot pay to God a ransom, so as to live for ever and not see corruption." The tenth verse is then a parenthetical amplification of the ninth. Others connect the ninth and tenth directly, by taking cease to mean that he cannot bring to pass. The redemption of their soul is too costly; he can never so contrive it, that he shall live for ever and not see corruption.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

corruption--literally, "pit," or, "grave," thus showing that "soul" is used for "life" [Psa 49:8].

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(9) That—i.e., in order that; introducing the purpose of the imagined ransom in Psa_49:7. Others connect it consecutively with Psa_49:8, “He must give up for ever the hope of living for ever.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9. The preceding verse is a parenthesis, and this verse is to be connected with Psa_49:7 and rendered,

That he should live on perpetually,

(And) should not see the pit.

‘To see the pit’ = to experience death. The word shachath, rendered corruption in the A.V., must mean ‘pit’ in some passages where it occurs (e.g. Psa_7:15; Psa_30:9), and may have this meaning always. Cp. note on Psa_16:10.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That he should still live for ever,.... Or "though he should live", &c. (w). Though the rich man should live ever so long, a thousand years twice told, as in Ecc 6:6; yet he could not in all this time, with all his riches, redeem his brother; and at last must die himself, and so must his brother too, as his own experience and observation may assure him, Psa 49:10. Or the meaning is, he cannot so redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom for him, that he should live a corporeal life for ever, and never die; since all men die, wise men and fools, rich and poor; and much less that he should live and enjoy an "eternal life", as the Targum; a life of happiness and bliss hereafter, which is not to be obtained by gold and silver, but is the pure gift of God;

and not see corruption; the grave, the pit of corruption, the house appointed for all living: or "the judgment of hell", according to the Chaldee paraphrase.

(w) "etiamsi vivat", Gejerus.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

That he should still live for ever - That his brother whom he could not redeem - or that he himself - should not die, Psa 49:8. The idea is, that the price of life is so great that no wealth can rescue it so that a man shall not die.

And not see corruption - Should not return to dust, or moulder away in the grave. See the notes at Psa 16:10.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Or, the pit, or the grave, i.e. not die, as that phrase is oft used, as has been noted before.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 9. No price could secure for any man that he should still live for ever, and not see corruption. Mad are men now after gold, what would they be if it could buy the elixir of immortality? Gold is lavished out of the bag to cheat the worm of the poor body by embalming it, or enshrining it in a coffin of lead, but it is a miserable business, a very burlesque and comedy. As for the soul, it is too subtle a thing to be detained when it hears the divine command to soar through tracks unknown. Never, therefore, will we fear those base nibblers at our heels, whose boasted treasure proves to be so powerless to save.

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption. This verse is to be closely connected with ver. 7, ver. 8 being parenthetical It describes the effect which the payment of a ransom by the rich, were it possible, might be expected to have.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

so that his body should not decay

This refers to the body decomposing in the grave.

he will see decay

The writer speaks of experiencing something as if it were seeing that thing. AT: "he will die and his body will decay" (See: Metaphor)

Wise men die; the fool and the brute alike perish

The author refers to all people by referring to those who have the most and least wisdom. (See: Merism)

brute

This means a person who is stupid or unintelligent.

translationWords

life

eternity

wise

die

fool

perish

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

will be too dear that he will live forever and not see the Pit. Menachem (p. 158) associated it as an expression of withholding, as (Isa. 13:12): “I will make mortal man dearer (אוקיר) than fine gold”; (Lev. 26:21), “I will go with them with wrath of withdrawal (קיר)” i.e., the ransom of their soul will be withheld.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.