Psalms 49:13 · Bible study
Psalms 49:13 Commentary: Folly That Echoes Down the Generations
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why do the foolish persist and pass on their self-destructive ways? Psalm 49:13 diagnoses the deadly cycle and calls for true wisdom.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The self-confident fool and his followers walk a path that is itself their punishment, yet the next generation still approves.
- Key words: “Way” (derek), course of life; “foolish” (kesil), morally obtuse, self-trusting; “approve” can also be read “run after” (vocalization variant).
- Main debate: Does ksl mean “folly” or “confidence”? Both are attested; the verse plays on the irony that confidence becomes folly.
- Theological theme: The persistence of self-destructive human pride across generations, contrasted with God’s redeeming grace for the humble.
- Best use: A diagnostic passage for preaching on the nature of folly, the danger of inherited worldliness, and the hope of breaking the cycle through faith.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
This is the fate of the self-confident and their followers who endorse their sayings. Selah
WEB World English Bible 2000
This is the destiny of those who are foolish, and of those who approve their sayings. Selah.
KJV King James Version 1769
This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
This their way is their folly: Yet after them men approve their sayings. [Selah
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
This their way is folly for them, And their posterity with their sayings are pleased. Selah.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
This their way is their folly, yet they that come after them delight in their sayings. Selah.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Shall I eat the flesh of bullocks? or shall I drink the blood of goats?
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Este su camino es su locura: con todo, corren sus descendientes por el dicho de ellos. ( Selah.)
Este é o caminho dos tolos e dos seus seguidores, que se agradam de suas palavras. (Selá)
Mais l’homme qui est en honneur n’ a point de durée,
Dies ihr Tun ist eitel Torheit; doch loben' s ihre Nachkommen mit ihrem Munde. ( Sela.)
De mens nochtans, die in waarde is, blijft niet; hij wordt gelijk als de beesten, die vergaan.
Questa loro condotta è una follia; eppure i loro successori approvano i lor detti. Sela.
Ale człowiek we czci nie zostaje, podobnym będąc bydlętom, które giną.
Ем ли Я мясо волов и пью ли кровь козлов?
他們行的這 道 本為自己的 愚昧；但他們以後的人 還佩服 他們的話語。（細拉）
This is the way of the foolish; their silver is for those who come after them, and their children get the pleasure of their gold. (Selah.)
Verse in Context
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions read this verse as a terse summary of how the wealthy-foolish live and die, and how their folly reproduces itself. Barnes names the core irony: this way of life is their folly, yet generation after generation adopts the same maxims, as if the experience of six thousand years had taught them nothing. Gill similarly notes that the rich place their hope in riches (the Hebrew root ksl can mean confidence as well as folly), and their descendants speak and act exactly as they did. The Cambridge Bible ties the verse to Job 18:21 and 20:29, summing up the fate of the self-confident and their followers. Calvin would add that the psalm as a whole aims to cure envy of the wicked by exposing the vanishing nature of their supposed happiness. All agree: the verse is a lament, not a sneer, it mourns a blindness that refuses to learn from death.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- The self-confident fool: The Hebrew 'ksl' can denote a certain kind of bold confidence that is morally reckless (cf. Ecclesiastes 7:25). The BSB translates this way.
- The morally foolish person: The same root also means 'folly' in the sense of stupidity, especially moral stupidity (Proverbs 1:22). Most English versions adopt this reading.
- Followers as posterity vs. contemporaries: The phrase 'after them' can be temporal ('their posterity') or locative ('those who follow behind them'). The grammar allows both, making the verse applicable to both immediate imitators and later generations.
What is clear: The verse describes a pattern where those who trust in themselves live a self-destructive way of life, and others — whether contemporaries or descendants — continue to endorse that same way, refusing to learn from its inevitable end.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of <em>ksl</em> (translated 'foolish' or 'self-confident') | The term describes a person who trusts in wealth or status instead of God. | Some English versions render it 'foolish' (KJV, ASV), others 'self-confident' (BSB). The root can mean both. Christians who emphasize the moral dimension prefer 'foolish'; those focusing on the psychology of arrogance prefer 'self-confident'. Both point to a trust misplaced. |
| Identity of 'those who approve their sayings' | They are later people who agree with or follow the foolish person's teaching. | Are they 'posterity' (future generations, KJV) or 'followers' (contemporaries who run after him, Cambridge Bible citing Aquila/Jerome)? The Hebrew consonants allow either. The verse works either way, the self-trusting fool finds imitators across time. |
| The role of Selah | It marks a pause for reflection, typical in psalms. | No debate on meaning, but its placement here emphasizes that the truth just stated (folly that reproduces itself) deserves meditation before the grim depiction of Sheol that follows. |
| Does this verse teach generational curse or individual accountability? | It describes a pattern of behavior repeating itself, not a direct punishment inherited. | Some traditions (e.g., Reformed) stress the solidarity of families in folly and grace; others (Wesleyan) emphasize that each individual chooses to approve or reject the sayings. Neither side denies personal responsibility. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 49 belongs to the wisdom tradition of the Old Testament, standing alongside Psalm 37 and Psalm 73 in addressing the perennial problem: why do the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer? It is attributed to the sons of Korah (see the title), a guild of temple musicians. The psalm is cast as a mashal, a proverb or parable, set to the harp (v.4). The poet speaks not from detached philosophy but from personal stake: “But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol” (v.15).
The word foolish in this verse draws on the Hebrew concept of the kesil, not the intellectually dull, but the morally obtuse person who lives as if God does not matter. Proverbs repeatedly warns against this character. The “way” (derek) is a common metaphor for one's course of life, and “folly” (ksl) carries the nuance of stubborn confidence in oneself rather than in God. The Cambridge Bible notes that Aquila and Jerome read the verb for “approve” as “run” (a different vocalization of the same consonants), suggesting eager followers who rush after the foolish leader. Either way, the verse paints a two-generation portrait: the self-trusting fool and the next generation that endorses his words.
The musical note “Selah” at the end invites the congregation to pause and reflect. This is a designed moment of silence, letting the weight of the observation sink in before the grim description of Sheol that follows in verse 14.
Textual Notes
Reception History
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The way of the fool is confidence misplaced. Not mere ignorance, but active trust in wealth, status, and self-sufficiency. The Hebrew root ksl can mean either “folly” or “confidence”, the fool’s confidence is his folly.
- Each generation repeats the error. Children endorse the sayings of their parents. They inherit not just property but a worldview that says riches matter most. The pattern resists correction by experience.
- God’s redemption breaks the cycle. Verse 15 stands in contrast: “God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol.” The preacher must not stop at diagnosis but point to the hope that the psalmist himself grasps.
Five-point outline
- The setting: a wisdom psalm addressing the prosperity of the wicked (vv.1, 4).
- The diagnosis: the rich fool trusts his wealth to deliver from death (vv.5, 12).
- The summary: this way is their folly, and their children approve (v.13, focus verse).
- The outcome: death shepherds them to Sheol; the upright reign in the morning (v.14).
- The alternative: God redeems the one who trusts in Him (v.15).
Illustration hooks
- A father who works himself to the bone to leave an inheritance, but never teaches his children to love God. The children inherit the house and the habit of workaholism, but not faith.
- A community where a culture of pride (“we have always done it this way”) persists despite visible consequences, financial ruin, broken relationships, because no one dares question the elders.
- The experience of watching someone repeat a mistake you warned them about, and then see their own children follow the same path. The verse names this frustration.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why do my parents cling to worldly values even when they've seen those values fail?
- How can I break free from a family pattern of greed or pride?
- Is it wrong to enjoy wealth, or is the problem trusting in it?
Leading a Discussion
This verse sits at the hinge of Psalm 49. It sums up everything said so far about the wealthy fool, and it sets up the contrast with God's redemption. The group should read the whole psalm (especially vv.5, 15) before discussing. Notice the repeated “Selah” at v.13 and v.15, musical pauses for reflection. Ask: what changes between those two pauses?
Discussion questions
- Read Psalm 49:10, 12. What specific forms does the fool’s self-confidence take? How do these look in our culture today?
- Verse 13 says the foolish person's way is their folly. What does that mean? How can a person's path of life be their own judgment?
- The verse also mentions “those who approve their sayings”, the next generation or close followers. Why do you think people keep endorsing a way of life that ends in death?
- Compare this with Luke 12:20, where God calls the rich farmer a fool. What is similar between the two passages?
- Verse 15 offers a sharp contrast. On what basis does the psalmist hope to be redeemed from Sheol? How does that hope reshape how we view wealth and status now?
- Does this psalm encourage a posture of indifference toward wealth, or something else? How do we live wisely in a world where money and status matter to everyone around us?
- Think of a time you saw a family pattern you wanted to break. What resources does the Christian community offer to help break cycles of foolish trust?
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Jeremiah 44:17 | But we will certainly perform every word that has gone out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of the sky and to pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food, and were well, and saw no evil. |
| Luke 11:47 | Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. |
| Luke 11:48 | So you testify and consent to the works of your fathers. For they killed them, and you build their tombs. |
| Luke 12:20 | “But God said to him, ‘You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared—whose will they be?’ |
| Luke 16:27 | “He said, ‘I ask you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house— |
| Luke 16:28 | for I have five brothers—that he may testify to them, so they won’t also come into this place of torment.’ |
| I Corinthians 3:19 | For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He has taken the wise in their craftiness.” |
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that the descendants of these people openly approve the sayings and adopt the maxims of their predecessors, choosing to follow the same path. The comment draws attention to generational continuity in belief and conduct, where later generations willingly embrace what came before.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes observes that the relentless pursuit of wealth, as if it could overcome death or secure a lasting name, is a folly that each generation repeats without learning from the past. He compares this to animal instinct, noting that while humanity advances in other knowledge, the desire for riches remains as foolish and unchanging as it ever was.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin highlights that the psalm addresses two very different audiences: the proud wicked who prosper and the struggling righteous who are tempted to despair. Both need correcting — the first to abandon pride in their fleeting success, the second to trust that God still regards them and will deliver them.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note highlights a bitter irony: the behavior of the foolish plainly exposes their lack of wisdom, yet their descendants still take pleasure in their words. The commentator sees this as a delusion passed from one generation to the next.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses that the very lifestyle these people trust in, placing their confidence in wealth and lasting fame, is itself their folly. Their descendants endorse the same empty hopes and repeat the same foolish behavior, despite endless evidence that worldly riches and status vanish.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB observes that even when a person's way is plainly foolish, others still copy that same course of life. The point is the puzzling persistence of imitation: recognizing folly does not stop people from following it.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch highlights a grim reversal: the self-confident are herded into Sheol like sheep, with Death himself as their shepherd. Their bodily form wastes away in the grave, leaving them no dwelling place. But for the upright, a morning dawns when they rule over their oppressors.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads this psalm as a wisdom poem confronting the puzzle of why the wicked prosper. His emphasis falls on the absolute inability of wealth to ransom anyone from death. Only God can redeem the soul from the grave's power, a hope the psalmist claims by a bold act of faith.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry observes that God often gives abundant wealth to wicked people, which proves two things: earthly riches are not the highest good, since God gives more of them to His enemies than to His friends, and they are not the best thing for us, since prosperity can ripen the wicked for ruin.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Way - Their contrivance to immortalize themselves.