Psalms Chapter 49 verse 5 Holy Bible

ASV Psalms 49:5

Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, When iniquity at my heels compasseth me about?
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BBE Psalms 49:5

What cause have I for fear in the days of evil, when the evil-doing of those who are working for my downfall is round about me?
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DARBY Psalms 49:5

Wherefore should I fear in the days of adversity, [when] the iniquity of my supplanters encompasseth me? --
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KJV Psalms 49:5

Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?
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WBT Psalms 49:5

I will incline my ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
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WEB Psalms 49:5

Why should I fear in the days of evil, When iniquity at my heels surrounds me?
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YLT Psalms 49:5

Why do I fear in days of evil? The iniquity of my supplanters doth compass me.
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Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerses 5-15. - The prelude, or introduction, being over, the substance of the "dark saying" is now brought forth. The problem is propounded. On the one hand are the righteous, fallen upon evil days, surrounded by treacherous foes, ever on the watch to do them a mischief (ver. 5); on the other are the wicked, "trusting in their wealth, and boasting themselves in the multitude of their riches" (ver. 6), so opulent that they build houses which they expect to "continue for ever" and proprietors on such a scale that their lands are "called after their names" (ver. 11); and both parties equally short-lived, soon swept away from earth (vers. 10, 12). How is it that God allows all this, and how is man to reconcile himself to it? Simply by two reflections - one, that for the wicked, who have their portion in this life, there is no hope of happiness after death (vers. 14, 17); and the other that "God will redeem the righteous from the power of the grave, and will receive them" (ver. 15). Verse 5. - Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil? i.e. have I reason to fear, or may I trust in God's protection? Are, or are not, the righteous under his care? When the iniquity of my heels; rather, of my supplanters - of those that would trip me up. Shall compass me about; i.e. surround me, lie in wait for me on every side (comp. Psalm 17:10-12).

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(5) Should I fear?--Here the problem is stated not in a speculative, but personal form. The poet himself feels the pressure of this riddle of life.When the iniquity of my heels.--The Authorised Version seems to take "heels" in the sense of footsteps, as Symmachus does, and "when the evil of my course entangles me," is good sense, but not in agreement with the context. Render rather, when iniquity dogs me at the heels, i.e., when wicked and prosperous men pursue him with malice. This is more natural than to give the word heel the derived term of supplanter; the sense, too, is the same. There is no direct reference to Genesis 3:15, though possibly the figure of the heel as a vulnerable part, and of wickedness lying like a snake in the path, may have occurred to the poet. The Syriac, however, suggests a different reading, "malice of my oppressors."