Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 49:5

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 49:5. The iniquity of my heels — Perhaps עקבי akebai, which we translate my heels, should be considered the contracted plural of עקבים akebim, supplanters. The verse would then read thus: "Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, though the iniquity of my supplanters should compass me about." The Syriac and Arabic have taken a similar view of the passage: "Why should I fear in the evil day, when the iniquity of my enemies compasses me about." And so Dr. Kennicott translates it.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 49:0 When rich and poor face death

Rich and poor alike are asked to listen as the psalmist deals with a problem of life that concerns them both (1-4). The godly have no need to be anxious when the wealthy and powerful oppose them. After all, the wealthy cannot give their money to God to stop them from dying. Money cannot buy the right to live for ever. The wealthy also must die (5-9). Whether people be wise or foolish, rich or poor, they are no better off than the beasts when it comes to escaping death (10-12).
Although all are equal in having to face death, they are not all equal in what they have to face after death. Those who foolishly rely on their wealth will find it unable to save them from ruin and decay in the world of the dead. On the other hand, the godly, who do not look to wealth to save them from the power of death, will find that God himself saves them, and leads them into a future life of joy (13-15). A person need not, therefore, fear or envy the rich, for their wealth is not lasting. It cannot save them from future ruin (16-20).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

WICKED RICH, PERSECUTED GODLY POOR

“Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, When iniquity at my heels compasseth me about? They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them by any means can redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him (For the redemption of their life is costly, And it abideth forever).”

“Days of evil… iniquity at my heels… they that trust in riches” The proximity of Psalms 49:5-6, is not accidental. Although the psalm does not say that all rich persons are wicked, it is clear enough that the days of evil and the encircling iniquity mentioned in Psalms 49:5 are clearly due to rich men who are evil, who trust in their riches and boast of their great wealth.

The problem here confronted is that of the contrasting lots of the wealthy wicked and the righteous man, persecuted by wicked men who are wealthy, boasting of their riches and trusting in them. There have been many very rich men who were righteous, such as Abraham, Job, and many others; but as the Lord himself noted, “Money itself is wicked”; and it is able to corrupt and destroy many of the people who possess it. (For a discussion of “Why Money is Wicked,” see Vol. 3 (Luke) of my New Testament series of commentaries, pp. 316,317.)

As Rawlinson pointed out, this old problem about the prosperity of the wicked, coupled with the persecutions and sufferings of the righteous, “Is solved in this psalm more distinctly than anywhere else in the Psalter by the announcement of compensation in a future life (Psalms 49:13-15).”The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 8 p. 377.

“None of them can redeem his brother” This is only one of many things that riches cannot do:

(1)    They cannot bring the possessor happiness.

(2)    They cannot enable their owner to redeem a brother, either from a fatal illness, or for the salvation of his soul.

(3)    They cannot endow their possessor with power to redeem himself from a terminal illness, nor prevent his dying just like all men. Diamond Jim Brady of New York once offered a physician a million dollars to get him a new stomach, but he didn’t get it, and died for the lack of it.

(4)    They cannot provide salvation for their owner.

(5)    They cannot even guarantee their owner’s continued possession of them throughout his life. Many who once were rich became poor.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil - This verse is designed evidently to state the main subject of the psalm; the result of the reflections of the author on what had been to him a source of perplexity; on what had seemed to him to be a dark problem. He “had” evidently felt that there was occasion to dread the power of wicked rich men; but he now felt that he had no ground for that fear and alarm. He saw that their power was short-lived; that all the ability to injure, arising from their station and wealth, must soon cease; that his own highest interests could not be affected by anything which they could do. The “days of evil” here spoken of are the times which are referred to in the following phrase, “when the iniquity of my heels,” etc.

When the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about - It would be difficult to make any sense out of this expression, though it is substantially the same rendering which is found in the Vulgate and the Septuagint. Luther renders it “when the iniquity of my oppressors encompasses me.” The Chaldee Paraphrase renders it, “why should I fear in the days of evil, unless it be when the guilt of my sin compasses me about?” The Syriac renders it, “the iniquity of “my enemies.” The Arabic, “when my enemies surround me.” DeWette renders it as Luther does. Rosenmuller, “when the iniquity of those who lay snares against me shall compass me around.” Prof. Alexander, “when the iniquity of my oppressors (or supplanters) shall surround me.” The word rendered “heels” here - עקב ‛âqêb - means properly “heel,” Genesis 3:15; Job 18:9; Judges 5:22; then, the rear of an army, Joshua 8:13; then, in the plural, “footsteps,” prints of the heel or foot, Psalms 77:19; and then, according to Gesenius (Lexicon) “a lier in wait, insidiator.”

Perhaps there is in the word the idea of craft; of lying in wait; of taking the advantages - from the verb עקב ‛âqab, to be behind, to come from behind; and hence to supplant; to circumvent. So in Hosea 12:3, “in the womb he held his brother by the heel” (compare Genesis 25:26). Hence, the word is used as meaning to supplant; to circumvent, Genesis 27:36; Jeremiah 9:4 (Hebrew, Jeremiah 9:3) This is, undoubtedly, the meaning here. The true idea is, when I am exposed to the crafts, the cunning, the tricks, of those who lie in wait for me; I am liable to be attacked suddenly, or to be taken unawares; but what have I to fear? The psalmist refers to the evil conduct of his enemies, as having given him alarm. They were rich and powerful. They endeavored in some way to supplant him - perhaps, as we should say, to “trip him up” - to overcome him by art, by power, by trick, or by fraud. He “had” been afraid of these powerful foes; but on a calm review of the whole matter, he came to the conclusion that he had really no cause for fear. The reasons for this he proceeds to state in the following part of the psalm.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

5.Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil? The Psalmist now enters upon the point on which he proposed to discourse, That the people of God must not yield to despondency even in the most distressing circumstances, when their enemies may seem to have enclosed them on every side, but must rest assured that God, although he connives for a time, is awake to their condition, and only watches the best opportunity of executing his judgments. This manner of introducing the subject by interrogation is much more emphatic than if he had simply asserted his resolution to preserve his mind undisturbed in the midst of adversity. In the second clause of the verse he particularises the heaviest and most bitter of all afflictions, those which are experienced by the righteous when their enemies triumph in the unrestrained indulgence of their wickedness. When, the adverb of time, must therefore be understood — When the iniquity of my heel shall compass me about There is a different meaning which some interpreters have attached to the words, namely, If I should fear in the days of evil, and be guilty of the excessive anxieties of the unbeliever, — in that case, when the hour of my death came, my iniquity would compass me about. The heel they take to be the end of life. But this interpretation is to be dismissed at once as most unnatural. Nor do I see what reason others have for referring this word to the thoughts, for I believe that in no other part of Scripture can such a metaphor or similitude be found. Others, with more plausibility, have rendered the original word liers in wait, ⁽²¹⁷⁾ because the Hebrew verb עקב, akab, signifies to deceive; and they consider the Psalmist as intimating, that he would not fear though crafty and treacherous men laid snares for him. In my opinion, there is no figure intended; and he means to say, that he would have no fear when his enemies surrounded him, and in pursuing him, trode, as it were, upon his heel. The French have a similar expression, “Poursuyvre jusques aux talons.” ⁽²¹⁸⁾ I agree with them, that he speaks of enemies, but it is of their wicked persecution as they press upon him in the height of their power, and with design to destroy him, keep themselves near him, and tread, so to speak, upon his very heel.

(217) Lowth reads, “The wickedness of those who lie in wait for me, or endeavor to supplant me; ” and Horsley, “When the iniquity of those who plot against me environs me.” The original word is עקבי, akabey, which Dr Adam Clarke thinks is to be considered as the contracted plural of עקבים, akabim, supplanters, from עקב, akab, to supplant, to defraud It is literally, “My Jacobs;” that is, those who would act towards me as Jacob acted towards Esau. See Genesis 27:36, and Jeremiah 9:4. The Syriac and Arabic versions read it, “My enemies.”

(218) i. e. “To pursue even to the heels.”

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 49:1-20

Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: Both low and high, rich and poor, together. My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open dark sayings upon the harp ( Psalms 49:1-4 ).

So I am going to play my harp and accompany myself and I am going to give you some things to think about, some dark parables.

Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about? They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give God a ransom for him: (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:) ( Psalms 49:5-8 )

Now he is gonna play on his harp and give you some things to meditate and think upon. And first, concerning the rich people, those that have so much wealth. There are some things that money cannot buy. "They that trust in their wealth boast themselves in the multitude of their riches, with all of their money they cannot redeem their souls." You cannot buy salvation. "For the redemption of their soul is precious." Now Peter probably was thinking of this psalm when he wrote, "For we are redeemed not with corruptible things such as silver and gold from the empty life we used to live, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ" ( 1 Peter 1:18-19 ). "For the redemption of their soul is precious," the precious blood of Jesus Christ who was slain as a lamb without spot or blemish. You can't buy it. The redemption of a soul, man can't buy it.

Now the thought of the rich man is that he should still live forever and not see corruption.

For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perishes, and they leave their wealth to others ( Psalms 49:10 ).

Now, one thing about the money, and of course, he says here that,

Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; and so they call their lands after their own names ( Psalms 49:11 ).

Now, beware when people start naming places after themselves. It is sort of an endeavor to say, "Hey, I am going to live on forever, the perpetuating of my name." And so I have, you know, "Chuck Smith Center," and "Chuck Smith Recreation Hall," and "Chuck Smith Chapel," and "Chuck Smith University." Oh God, help us. I am glad He gave me such a dumb, common name as Smith so there will be no movement to name anything after Smith.

It is interesting how that people look up to certain people, and the values that the world has today. The value system. This past week I was over here in the parking lot near Sav-On drug store, and a little man was looking at me very carefully. And he came up to me and he said, "I know you." He said, "I watch you on television." And of course, I have a lot of people that come up and say that, you know, "I have been listening to your broadcast for years," or whatever. And so I meet a lot of people like this that come up and say, "Oh, I have been watching your program, or whatever, and aren't you Chuck Smith?" And you know, you get that. And so I said, "Oh, that's fine. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." You know, what are you going to say? And so, as I turned to walk away, he says, "Goodbye, captain!" Boy, did the air go out of my balloon. The guy is watching Love Boat on Saturday nights instead of church on Sunday morning. We get funny ideas about ourselves.

"Their inward thought is that their houses will continue forever. Their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names."

Nevertheless man being in honor abides not: he is like the beasts that perish. This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings ( Psalms 49:12-13 ).

"Oh, do you know what he said?" You know, and you have a little book of quotations, "Chuck Smith said..." Oh God, deliver us.

Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling. But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall revive me ( Psalms 49:14-15 ).

Now the wealthy, you know, their bodies are going to be consumed. Their beauty is in the grave, but God is gonna revive me.

Be not afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; For when he dies he will carry nothing away ( Psalms 49:16-17 ):

So the rich with their riches cannot redeem their souls, nor can they take it with them.

his glory shall not descend after him. Though while he lived he blessed his soul, (and men will praise thee, when thou do well to yourself,) He shall go to the generation of his fathers; and they shall never see light. Man that is in honor, and understands not, is like the beasts [brutish, foolish] that perish ( Psalms 49:17-20 ).

Man is like the beast. That is, a man who is not born again. For a man who is not born again is living in a body-conscious state, just like the beast. For that is what animal life is, a body-conscious life. All the animal is thinking about is his next meal or the procreation, and just following the basic body instincts. And man without God, without the spirit being made alive, is just like a beast. And like a beast, he will perish. But those who have been born again by the Spirit of Christ, who live and believe in Jesus Christ, Jesus said, "He that liveth and believeth in Me shall never die" ( John 11:26 ). God will revive my soul. I'll be dwelling with Him. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 49

The writer reflected on the problem that the prosperity of the wicked poses in this wisdom psalm (cf. Psalms 73). He observed that there are many ungodly people who enjoy many physical blessings. Still, he concluded that the righteous are better off because they have a sure hope for the future.

"The psalm is an encouragement to the godly who are haunted by the power and influence of the rich." [Note: VanGemeren, p. 366. See also Brueggemann, pp. 106-10.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

This rhetorical question sets forth the folly of fearing when wicked people oppose the righteous. It introduces the revelation that the prosperous ungodly enjoy a false security (Psalms 49:7-12).

"It’s good to have things that money can buy, if we don’t lose the things money can’t buy. It’s sad when people start to confuse prices with values." [Note: Wiersbe, The . . . Wisdom . . ., p. 187.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

2. Observation of the prosperity of the wicked 49:5-12

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil,.... This is the principal thing that all are before called to hearken to. This is the wisdom and understanding the psalmist had been meditating upon, and was about to utter; this is the parable he inclined his ear to, and the dark saying he would open; namely, that a saint has nothing to fear in the worst of times; which is a riddle to a natural man. Aben Ezra interprets "the days of evil" of the days of old age, as they are called, Ecclesiastes 12:1, which bring on diseases, weakness, and death; in which a good man has no reason to fear; as that he should want the necessaries of life, since they that fear the Lord shall want no good thing; or that he should not hold out to the end, seeing God, who is the guide of youth, is the staff of old age, and carries to hoary hairs, and will never leave nor forsake; and though the wicked man in old age has reason to be afraid of death and eternity at hand, the saint has not; but may sing, on the borders of the grave, "O death! where is thy sting?" c. 1 Corinthians 15:55. Also days in which iniquity abounds, and error and heresy prevail, are days of evil and though the good man may fear he shall be led aside by the ill example of some, or by the craft of others; yet he need not, since the foundation of God stands sure, and he knows them that are his, and will take care of them and preserve them. Moreover, times of affliction and persecution are evil days; see Ephesians 5:16; and such will be the hour of temptation, that shall try the inhabitants of the earth, Revelation 3:10. Yet the righteous man need not fear, since it is always well with him, let his case and circumstances be what they will. Yea, the day of death, and the day of judgment are days of evil to wicked men; and therefore they put them away far from them, Amos 6:3; but believers have reason to rejoice at them, the day of their death being better than the day of their birth; and the day of judgment will be the time of the glorious appearing of Christ to them. It is added,

[when] the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about; that is, the sins of life and conversation; "heels" denote "steps", and the word is sometimes so rendered, as in Psalms 56:6; and "iniquity" intends sin committed in walking; and so designs not original sin, as some have thought, but actual sins and transgressions: and these may be said to "compass [the saints] about", when they are chastised for them, and so are brought to a sense and acknowledgment of them, and to be humbled for them; and then they have nothing to fear in a slavish way, since these chastisements are not in wrath, or in a way of vindictive justice, or punishment for sin; but the fruits of love and favour. Or the sense may be, when death, the fruit of iniquity, the wages of sin, surrounds and seizes upon me; בסופי, "in my end", as the Targum; in my last days, at the heel or close of them, I will not fear; the saint has no reason to fear, when he walks through death's dark valley; for death is abolished as a penal evil, its sting is took away, and its curse removed. Some render the words, "when the iniquity of my supplanters shall compass me about" o; meaning his enemies, who either lay in wait for him privately, and endeavoured to supplant him; or that pursued him closely, and pressed upon his heels, just ready to destroy him; yet even then he signifies he should not fear: and then the sense is the same with Psalms 27:1; to which agree the Syriac and Arabic versions, which render it, "the iniquity of mine enemies"; or, "when my enemies surround me": and it may be literally rendered, when "iniquity surrounds me at my heels" p; that is, when men, who are iniquity itself, encompass me, are at my heels, ready to seize me, I will not fear.

o עון עקבי "iniquitas supplantatorum meorum", Gejerus; "insidiatorum meorum", some in Vatablus. p "Iniquitas oppressorum", i.e. "iniquissimi mei oppressores ambiunt me", Gejerus.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

To the chief musician. A psalm for the sons of Korah.

      1 Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:   2 Both low and high, rich and poor, together.   3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.   4 I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.   5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?

      This is the psalmist's preface to his discourse concerning the vanity of the world and its insufficiency to make us happy; and we seldom meet with an introduction more solemn than this is; for there is no truth of more undoubted certainty, nor of greater weight and importance, and the consideration of which will be of more advantage to us.

      I. He demands the attention of others to that which he was about to say (Psalms 49:1; Psalms 49:2): Hear this, all you people; hear it and heed it, hear it and consider it; what is spoken once, hear twice. Hear and give ear,Psalms 62:9; Psalms 62:11. Not only, "Hear, all you Israelites, and give ear all the inhabitants of Canaan," but, Hear, all you people, and give ear, all you inhabitants of the world; for this doctrine is not peculiar to those that are blessed with divine revelation, but even the light of nature witnesses to it. All men may know, and therefore let all men consider, that their riches will not profit them in the day of death. Both low and high, both rich and poor, must come together, to hear the word of God; let both therefore hear this with application. Let those that are high and rich in the world hear of the vanity of their worldly possessions and not be proud of them, nor secure in the enjoyment of them, but lay them out in doing good, that with them they may make to themselves friends; let those that are poor and low hear this and be content with their little, and not envy those that have abundance. Poor people are as much in danger from an inordinate desire towards the wealth of the world as rich people from an inordinate delight in it. He gives a good reason why his discourse should be regarded (Psalms 49:3; Psalms 49:3): My mouth shall speak of wisdom; what he had to say, 1. Was true and good. It is wisdom and understanding; it will make those wise and intelligent that receive it and submit to it. It is not doubtful but certain, not trivial but weighty, not a matter of nice speculation but of admirable use to guide us in the right way to our great end. 2. It was what he had himself well digested. What his mouth spoke was the meditation of his heart (as Psalms 19:14; Psalms 45:1); it was what God put into his mind, what he had himself seriously considered, and was fully apprized of the meaning of and convinced of the truth of. That which ministers speak from their own hearts is most likely to reach the hearts of their hearers.

      II. He engages his own attention (Psalms 49:4; Psalms 49:4): I will incline my ear to a parable. It is called a parable, not because it is figurative and obscure, but because it is a wise discourse and very instructive. It is the same word that is used concerning Solomon's proverbs. The psalmist will himself incline his ear to it. This intimates, 1. That he was taught it by the Spirit of God and did not speak of himself. Those that undertake to teach others must first learn themselves. 2. That he thought himself nearly concerned in it, and was resolved not to venture his own soul upon that bottom which he dissuaded others from venturing theirs upon. 3. That he would not expect others should attend to that which he himself did not attend to as a matter of the greatest importance. Where God gives the tongue of the learned he first wakens the ear to hear as the learned,Isaiah 50:4.

      III. He promises to make the matter as plain and as affecting as he could: I will open my dark saying upon the harp. What he learned for himself he would not conceal or confine to himself, but would communicate, for the benefit of others. 1. Some understood it not, it was a riddle to them; tell them of the vanity of the things that are seen, and of the reality and weight of invisible things, and they say, Ah Lord God! doth he not speak parables? For the sake of such, he would open this dark saying, and make it so plain that he that runs might read it. 2. Others understood it well enough, but they were not moved by it, it never affected them, and for their sake he would open it upon the harp, and try that expedient to work upon them, to win upon them. A verse may find him who a sermon flies. Herbert.

      IV. He begins with the application of it to himself, and that is the right method in which to treat of divine things. We must first preach to ourselves before we undertake to admonish or instruct others. Before he comes to set down the folly of carnal security (Psalms 49:6; Psalms 49:6), he here lays down, from his own experience, the benefit and comfort of a holy gracious security, which those enjoy who trust in God, and not in their worldly wealth: Wherefore should I fear? he means, Wherefore should I fear their fear (Isaiah 8:12), the fears of worldly people. 1. "Wherefore should I be afraid of them? Wherefore should I fear in the days of trouble and persecution, when the iniquity of my heels, or of my supplanters that endeavour to trip up my heels, shall compass me about, and they shall surround me with their mischievous attempts? Why should I be afraid of those all whose power lies in their wealth, which will not enable them to redeem their friends? I will not fear their power, for it cannot enable them to ruin me." The great men of the world will not appear at all formidable when we consider what little stead their wealth will stand them in. We need not fear their casting us down from our excellency who cannot support themselves in their own excellency. 2. "Wherefore should I be afraid like them?" The days of old age and death are the days of evil,Ecclesiastes 12:1. In the day of judgment the iniquity of our heels (or of our steps, our past sins) will compass us about, will be set in order before us. Every work will be brought into judgment, with every secret thing; and every one of us must give account of himself. In these days worldly wicked people will be afraid; nothing more dreadful to those that have set their hearts upon the world than to think of leaving it; death to them is the king of terrors, because, after death, comes the judgment, when their sins will surround them as so many furies; but wherefore should a good man fear death, who has God with him? Psalms 23:4. When his iniquities compass him about, he sees them all pardoned, his conscience is purified and pacified, and then even in the judgment-day, when the hearts of others fail them for fear, he can lift up his head with joy, Luke 21:26; Luke 21:28. Note, The children of God, though ever so poor, are in this truly happy, above the most prosperous of the children of this world, that they are well guarded against the terrors of death and the judgment to come.