The Meaning of Psalms 49:11 Explained

Psalms 49:11

KJV: Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.

YLT: Their heart is: Their houses are to the age, Their tabernacles to all generations. They proclaimed their names over the lands.

Darby: Their inward thought is, that their houses are for ever,their dwelling-places from generation to generation: they call the lands after their own names.

ASV: Their inward thought is, that their houses'shall continue for ever, And their dwelling-places to all generations; They call their lands after their own names.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Their inward  thought [is, that] their houses  [shall continue] for ever,  [and] their dwelling  places to all  generations;  they call  [their] lands  after their own names. 

What does Psalms 49:11 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 49:1-20 - The Folly Of Trusting In Riches
Here is a proclamation worthy of the hearing of all the world. The psalmist is listening to voices unheard by ordinary ears. Be sure to listen to God's voice, and then unfold His dark sayings in music. However dark they may seem in their mystery and awe, they may be uttered in song. See Revelation 15:3-4.
The burden of the psalm is the impotence of wealth. The millionaire cannot prolong the life of his sick child. And even if, like Queen Elizabeth, he cries on his dying bed: "A million of money for a moment of time!" the sand passes unheeding through the hour-glass. He must leave stocks and shares, jewels and gold, at the summons of Death, described in Psalms 49:14 as the shepherd who calls his flock to fold it in Sheol, R.V. How different the lot of the righteous! As eternity dawns, they are redeemed from the power of the grave and pass to the bosom of God. What are the riches and glory of this world compared with the sense of God's presence in the humble and contrite heart! To have that is to have the essence of all! "Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee," Psalms 73:25. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 49

1  An earnest persuasion to build the faith of resurrection
16  Worldly prosperity is not to be admired

What do the individual words in Psalms 49:11 mean?

Their inner thought [is that] their houses [will last] forever their dwelling places to and all generations they call after their own names on [their] lands
קִרְבָּ֤ם בָּתֵּ֨ימוֹ ׀ לְֽעוֹלָ֗ם מִ֭שְׁכְּנֹתָם לְדֹ֣ר וָדֹ֑ר קָֽרְא֥וּ בִ֝שְׁמוֹתָ֗ם עֲלֵ֣י אֲדָמֽוֹת

קִרְבָּ֤ם  Their  inner  thought  [is  that] 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: קֶרֶב  
Sense: midst, among, inner part, middle.
בָּתֵּ֨ימוֹ ׀  their  houses  [will  last] 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
לְֽעוֹלָ֗ם  forever 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.
מִ֭שְׁכְּנֹתָם  their  dwelling  places 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: מִשְׁכָּן  
Sense: dwelling place, tabernacle.
וָדֹ֑ר  and  all  generations 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: דֹּור 
Sense: period, generation, habitation, dwelling.
קָֽרְא֥וּ  they  call 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
בִ֝שְׁמוֹתָ֗ם  after  their  own  names 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: שֵׁם  
Sense: name.
אֲדָמֽוֹת  [their]  lands 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: אֲדָמָה 
Sense: ground, land.