John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 49:8
For the redemption of their soul is precious ,.... Or "heavy" F19 יקר "gravis", De Dieu, Michaelis. ; it is, as Jarchi observes, "heavier than their substance": it is too weighty a matter for the richest man in the world to engage in; he is not equal to it; his riches are not an equivalent to the redemption of a soul which has sinned, and which is of more worth than the whole world: "what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" or another for him? all the substance of his house... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 49:6-14
In these verses we have, I. A description of the spirit and way of worldly people, whose portion is in this life, Ps. 17:14. It is taken for granted that they have wealth, and a multitude of riches (Ps. 49:6), houses and lands of inheritance, which they call their own, Ps. 49:11. God often gives abundance of the good things of this world to bad men who live in contempt of him and rebellion against him, by which it appears that they are not the best things in themselves (for then God would give... read more