Psalm 49:14
Like sheep they are destined for Sheol. Death will be their shepherd. The upright will rule them in the morning, and their form will decay in Sheol, far from their lofty abode.
Like sheep
The imagery of sheep is frequently used in the Bible to describe people, often highlighting their vulnerability and need for guidance. In the Hebrew context, sheep were common livestock, symbolizing innocence but also helplessness without a shepherd. This phrase suggests that people, in their mortality, are like sheep, easily led and in need of divine guidance. The metaphor underscores the human condition of dependency and the inevitability of death, which is a common theme in wisdom literature.

They are destined for Sheol
Sheol, in Hebrew thought, is the abode of the dead, a shadowy place where all souls go after death. It is not necessarily a place of punishment but rather a realm of the departed. The phrase indicates the inevitability of death for all, regardless of status or wealth. This serves as a humbling reminder of the transient nature of earthly life and the ultimate destiny that awaits everyone, emphasizing the need for spiritual preparedness.

Death will be their shepherd
This phrase presents a stark contrast to the familiar image of the Lord as a shepherd. Here, death is personified as a shepherd, guiding the souls of the unwise to Sheol. It suggests that without the guidance of God, death becomes the ultimate leader, underscoring the futility of trusting in worldly wealth or wisdom. This imagery serves as a warning to seek the true Shepherd, who offers eternal life.

The upright will rule over them in the morning
The "morning" symbolizes a new beginning or resurrection, contrasting the darkness of Sheol. The "upright" refers to those who live righteously according to God's commandments. This phrase promises that the righteous will ultimately triumph and have authority in the life to come. It reflects the biblical theme of divine justice, where the faithful are rewarded and the unrighteous face consequences.

Their form will decay in Sheol
This phrase emphasizes the physical decay that accompanies death, a stark reminder of human mortality. In the ancient Near Eastern context, the body was often seen as integral to one's identity, and its decay in Sheol signifies the end of earthly existence. This serves as a sobering reminder of the impermanence of life and the futility of placing hope in material things.

Far from their lofty abode
The "lofty abode" likely refers to the earthly status, wealth, or power that individuals may have enjoyed. The phrase highlights the separation between one's earthly achievements and their ultimate fate in Sheol. It serves as a caution against pride and self-reliance, reminding believers that true security and eternal dwelling come only from a relationship with God. This reinforces the biblical teaching that treasures should be stored in heaven, not on earth.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Sheep
Symbolically represents people who are following a path without understanding, often used to describe those who are spiritually lost or misguided.

2. Sheol
In Hebrew thought, Sheol is the realm of the dead, a place of darkness and separation from the living, often associated with the grave or the afterlife.

3. Death
Personified as a shepherd in this verse, indicating the inevitability of death guiding those who are not aligned with God’s will.

4. The Upright
Refers to those who live righteously and in accordance with God’s commandments, who will ultimately triumph over the wicked.

5. Morning
Symbolizes a new beginning or resurrection, representing the hope and victory of the righteous over death.
Teaching Points
The Inevitability of Death
Recognize that death is a certainty for all, but the path we choose in life determines our eternal destiny.

The Role of Righteousness
Living a life aligned with God’s will ensures that we are counted among the upright who will triumph over death.

Hope in Resurrection
The "morning" symbolizes the hope of resurrection and eternal life for those who are faithful to God.

The Futility of Earthly Wealth and Status
Earthly achievements and possessions cannot prevent the decay of the body in Sheol; only a relationship with God offers true security.

Eternal Perspective
Focus on living with an eternal perspective, prioritizing spiritual growth and alignment with God’s purposes over temporary worldly gains.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the imagery of sheep and shepherd in Psalm 49:14 compare to other biblical references to sheep and shepherds?

2. What does the concept of Sheol teach us about the Hebrew understanding of life after death, and how does this compare to New Testament teachings on the afterlife?

3. In what ways can we ensure that we are counted among "the upright" who will rule in the morning?

4. How can the inevitability of death influence our daily decisions and priorities as Christians?

5. Reflect on a time when focusing on eternal values helped you overcome a challenge or temptation related to worldly desires. How can this perspective be applied to current situations in your life?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 23
Contrasts the shepherding of death with the Lord as the shepherd who leads to life and righteousness.

Ecclesiastes 12:7
Discusses the return of the spirit to God, contrasting the decay of the body in Sheol.

Matthew 25:31-46
The separation of the righteous and the wicked at the final judgment, similar to the ruling of the upright over the wicked.

1 Corinthians 15:54-57
Speaks of victory over death through Jesus Christ, aligning with the hope of the upright ruling in the morning.
A Vast Change: in the MorningC. Clemance Psalm 49:14
The Sheep of DeathThe Expositor.Psalm 49:14
Two Shepherds and Two FlocksA. Maclaren, D. D.Psalm 49:14
A Contrast: Unseen WealthC. Clemance Psalm 49:1-20
A Dark Saying: Wealth in Bad HandsC. Clemance Psalm 49:1-20
Be not AfraidW. Forsyth Psalm 49:1-20
The Inequalities of SocietyG. C. Lorimer, D. D.Psalm 49:1-20
The Issues of LifeC. Short Psalm 49:1-20
People
Asaph, Korah, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Appointed, Beauty, Death, Decay, Destined, Dominion, Feed, Flock, Forms, Grave, Mansion, Mansions, Morning, Princely, Rule, Sheol, Shepherd, Upright
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 49:14

     4684   sheep

Psalm 49:13-14

     5288   dead, the

Psalm 49:13-20

     4938   fate, final destiny

Psalm 49:14-15

     9040   grave, the
     9540   Sheol

Library
Two Shepherds and Two Flocks
'Like sheep they are laid in the grave; Death shall feed on them.' --PSALM xlix. 14. 'The Lamb which is in the midst of the Throne shall feed them.' --REV. vii. 17. These two verses have a much closer parallelism in expression than appears in our Authorised Version. If you turn to the Revised Version you will find that it rightly renders the former of my texts, 'Death shall be their shepherd,' and the latter, 'The Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall be their Shepherd.' The Old Testament
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Wesley's Hymns Reconsidered
Bernard Manning A paper read before the Cambridge University Methodist Society on February 9, 1939. SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE, sometime Scholar of Jesus College in the University of Cambridge, once wrote some ingenious verses {Metrical Feet: Lesson for a Boy.} to help his sons to remember the chief sorts of metre. If Coleridge had been a Methodist instead of a pilgrim from Anglicanism to Unitarianism and back again, he would have needed to do no such thing: he would have needed only to advise his boys
Bernard L. Manning—The Hymns of Wesley and Watts: Five Papers

The Lapse of Time.
"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest."--Eccles. ix. 10. Solomon's advice that we should do whatever our hand findeth to do with our might, naturally directs our thoughts to that great work in which all others are included, which will outlive all other works, and for which alone we really are placed here below--the salvation of our souls. And the consideration of this great work,
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

The Care of the Soul Urged as the one Thing Needful
Luke 10:42 -- "But one thing is needful." It was the amiable character of our blessed Redeemer, that "he went about doing good," this great motive, which animated all his actions, brought him to the house of his friend Lazarus, at Bethany, and directed his behavior there. Though it was a season of recess from public labor, our Lord brought the sentiments and the pious cares of a preacher of righteousness into the parlor of a friend; and there his doctrine dropped as the rain, and distilled as the
George Whitefield—Selected Sermons of George Whitefield

The Three Parables of Warning: to the Individual, to the Nation, and to the Theocracy - the Foolish Rich Man - the Barren Fig-Tree - The
The three Parables, which successively follow in St. Luke's Gospel, may generally be designated as those of warning.' This holds specially true of the last two of them, which refer to the civil and the ecclesiastical polity of Israel. Each of the three Parables is set in an historical frame, having been spoken under circumstances which gave occasion for such illustration. 1. The Parable of the foolish rich man. [4439] It appears, that some one among them that listened to Jesus conceived the idea,
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Sense in Which, and End for which all Things were Delivered to the Incarnate Son.
For whereas man sinned, and is fallen, and by his fall all things are in confusion: death prevailed from Adam to Moses (cf. Rom. v. 14), the earth was cursed, Hades was opened, Paradise shut, Heaven offended, man, lastly, corrupted and brutalised (cf. Ps. xlix. 12), while the devil was exulting against us;--then God, in His loving-kindness, not willing man made in His own image to perish, said, Whom shall I send, and who will go?' (Isa. vi. 8). But while all held their peace, the Son [441] said,
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

Notes on the Second Century
Page 94. Line 9. The Book of ---- The reference here is to the apocryphal Wisdom of Solomon xiii. 1-5. Page 104. Med. 33. As originally written this Meditation commenced thus: Whether the sufferings of an. Angel would have been meritorious or no I will not dispute: but'---- And the following sentence, which comes after the first, has also been crossedout: So that it was an honour and no injury to be called to it: And so great an honour that it was an ornament to God himself, and an honour even to
Thomas Traherne—Centuries of Meditations

The Kinsman Redeemer
'After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him.'--LEV. xxv. 48. There are several of the institutions and precepts of the Mosaic legislation which, though not prophetic, nor typical, have yet remarkable correspondences with lofty Christian truth. They may be used as symbols, if only we remember that we are diverting them from their original purpose. How singularly these words lend themselves to the statement of the very central truths of Christianity--a slavery
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Out of the Deep of Doubt, Darkness, and Hell.
O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night unto Thee. Oh! let my prayer enter into Thy presence. For my soul is full of trouble and my life draweth nigh unto Hell. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in a place of darkness, and in the deep.--Ps. lxxxviii. 1, 2. If I go down to Hell, Thou art there also. Yea, the darkness is no darkness with Thee; but the night is as clear as the day.--Ps. cxxxix. 7, 11. I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my calling.
Charles Kingsley—Out of the Deep

The Christian Business World
Scripture references: Proverbs 22:29; Romans 12:11; Psalms 24:1; 50:10-12; Haggai 2:8; Psalm 49:6,10,16,17; 62:10; Matthew 13:22; Mark 10:23,24; Job 31:24-26; Proverbs 3:9; Matthew 25:14-30; 24:45-51; 6:19-21; Luke 12:16-21. THE IDEAL IN THE BUSINESS WORLD There is often a wide difference between the methods actually employed in doing business and when they should be. Good men who are in the thick of the battle of competition and rivalry with other firms in the same line of trade, are the quickest
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

Adam's Sin
Q-15: WHAT WAS THE SIN WHEREBY OUR FIRST PARENTS FELL FROM THE ESTATE WHEREIN THEY WERE CREATED? A: That sin was eating the forbidden fruit. 'She took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also to her husband.' Gen 3:3. Here is implied, 1. That our first parents fell from their estate of innocence. 2. The sin by which they fell, was eating the forbidden fruit. I. Our first parents fell from their glorious state of innocence. God made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions.' Eccl
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Some Helps to Mourning
Having removed the obstructions, let me in the last place propound some helps to holy mourning. 1 Set David's prospect continually before you. My sin is ever before me' (Psalm 51:3). David, that he might be a mourner, kept his eye full upon sin. See what sin is, and then tell me if there be not enough in it to draw forth tears. I know not what name to give it bad enough. One calls it the devil's excrement. Sin is a complication of all evils. It is the spirits of mischief distilled. Sin dishonours
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

"Boast not Thyself of To-Morrow, for Thou Knowest not what a Day May Bring Forth. "
Prov. xxvii. 1.--"Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." There are some peculiar gifts that God hath given to man in his first creation, and endued his nature with, beyond other living creatures, which being rightly ordered and improved towards the right objects, do advance the soul of man to a wonderful height of happiness, that no other sublunary creature is capable of. But by reason of man's fall into sin, these are quite disordered and turned out of
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Letter Xlvi (Circa A. D. 1125) to Guigues, the Prior, and to the Other Monks of the Grand Chartreuse
To Guigues, the Prior, And to the Other Monks of the Grand Chartreuse He discourses much and piously of the law of true and sincere charity, of its signs, its degrees, its effects, and of its perfection which is reserved for Heaven (Patria). Brother Bernard, of Clairvaux, wishes health eternal to the most reverend among fathers, and to the dearest among friends, Guigues, Prior of the Grande Chartreuse, and to the holy Monks who are with him. 1. I have received the letter of your Holiness as joyfully
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

The Covenant of Works
Q-12: I proceed to the next question, WHAT SPECIAL ACT OF PROVIDENCE DID GOD EXERCISE TOWARDS MAN IN THE ESTATE WHEREIN HE WAS CREATED? A: When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him upon condition of perfect obedience, forbidding him to eat of the tree of knowledge upon pain of death. For this, consult with Gen 2:16, 17: And the Lord commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Question Lxxxi of the virtue of Religion
I. Does the Virtue of Religion Direct a Man To God Alone? S. Augustine, sermon, cccxxxiv. 3 " on Psalm lxxvi. 32 sermon, cccxi. 14-15 II. Is Religion a Virtue? III. Is Religion One Virtue? IV. Is Religion a Special Virtue Distinct From Others? V. Is Religion One of the Theological Virtues? VI. Is Religion To Be Preferred To the Other Moral Virtues? VII. Has Religion, Or Latria, Any External Acts? S. Augustine, of Care for the Dead, V. VIII. Is Religion the Same As Sanctity? Cardinal Cajetan,
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

The Resemblance Between the Old Testament and the New.
1. Introduction, showing the necessity of proving the similarity of both dispensations in opposition to Servetus and the Anabaptists. 2. This similarity in general. Both covenants truly one, though differently administered. Three things in which they entirely agree. 3. First general similarity, or agreement--viz. that the Old Testament, equally with the New, extended its promises beyond the present life, and held out a sure hope of immortality. Reason for this resemblance. Objection answered. 4.
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

The Greatness of the Soul,
AND UNSPEAKABLENESS 0F THE LOSS THEREOF; WITH THE CAUSES OF THE LOSING IT. FIRST PREACHED AT PINNER'S HALL and now ENLARGED AND PUBLISHED FOR GOOD. By JOHN BUNYAN, London: Printed for Benjamin Alsop, at the Angel and Bible in the Poultry, 1682 Faithfully reprinted from the Author's First Edition. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Our curiosity is naturally excited to discover what a poor, unlettered mechanic, whose book-learning had been limited to the contents of one volume, could by possibility know
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Resurrection of the Dead, and Eternal Judgment:
OR, THE TRUTH OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODIES, BOTH OF GOOD AND BAD AT THE LAST DAY: ASSERTED, AND PROVED BY GOD'S WORD. ALSO, THE MANNER AND ORDER OF THEIR COMING FORTH OF THEIR GRAVES; AS ALSO, WITH WHAT BODIES THEY DO ARISE. TOGETHER, WITH A DISCOURSE OF THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND THE FINAL CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE WORLD. BY JOHN BUNYAN, A SERVANT OF THE LORD'S CHRIST. "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Notes on the Third Century
Page 161. Line 1. He must be born again, &c. This is a compound citation from John iii. 3, and Mark x. 15, in the order named. Page 182. Line 17. For all things should work together, &c. See Romans viii. 28. Page 184. Lines 10-11. Being Satan is able, &c. 2 Corinthians xi. 14. Page 184. Last line. Like a sparrow, &c. Psalm cii. Page 187. Line 1. Mechanisms. This word is, in the original MS., mechanicismes.' Page 187. Line 7. Like the King's daughter, &c. Psalm xlv. 14. Page 188. Med. 39. The best
Thomas Traherne—Centuries of Meditations

Appendix ix. List of Old Testament Passages Messianically Applied in Ancient Rabbinic Writings
THE following list contains the passages in the Old Testament applied to the Messiah or to Messianic times in the most ancient Jewish writings. They amount in all to 456, thus distributed: 75 from the Pentateuch, 243 from the Prophets, and 138 from the Hagiorgrapha, and supported by more than 558 separate quotations from Rabbinic writings. Despite all labour care, it can scarcely be hoped that the list is quite complete, although, it is hoped, no important passage has been omitted. The Rabbinic references
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links
Psalm 49:14 NIV
Psalm 49:14 NLT
Psalm 49:14 ESV
Psalm 49:14 NASB
Psalm 49:14 KJV

Psalm 49:14 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Psalm 49:13
Top of Page
Top of Page