Psalms 49:7-9

49:7 Certainly a man cannot rescue his brother; ¹ 

he cannot pay God an adequate ransom price ² 

49:8 (the ransom price for a human life ³  is too high,

and people go to their final destiny), ⁴ 

49:9 so that he might continue to live ⁵  forever

and not experience death. ⁶ 

Job 30:23

30:23 I know that you are bringing ⁷  me to death,

to the meeting place for all the living.

Ecclesiastes 3:19-20

3:19 For the fate of humans ⁸  and the fate of animals are the same:

As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath.

There is no advantage for humans over animals,

for both are fleeting.

3:20 Both go to the same place,

both come from the dust,

and to dust both return.

Ecclesiastes 8:8

8:8 Just as no one has power over the wind to restrain it, ⁹ 

so no one has power over the day of his ¹⁰  death.

Just as no one can be discharged during the battle, ¹¹ 

so wickedness cannot rescue the wicked. ¹² 

Ecclesiastes 9:5

9:5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything;

they have no further reward – and even the memory of them disappears. ¹³ 

Ecclesiastes 12:7

12:7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was,

and the life’s breath ¹⁴  returns to God who gave it.

Hebrews 9:27

9:27 And just as people ¹⁵  are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment, ¹⁶ 

[49:7]  ¹ tn Heb “a brother, he surely does not ransom, a man.” The sequence אִישׁ...אָח (’akh...’ish, “a brother…a man”) is problematic, for the usual combination is אָח...אָח (“a brother…a brother”) or אִישׁ...אִישׁ (“a man…a man”). When אִישׁ and אָח are combined, the usual order is אָח...אִישׁ (“a man…a brother”), with “brother” having a third masculine singular suffix, “his brother.” This suggests that “brother” is the object of the verb and “man” the subject. (1) Perhaps the altered word order and absence of the suffix can be explained by the text’s poetic character, for ellipsis is a feature of Hebrew poetic style. (2) Another option, supported by a few medieval Hebrew mss, is to emend “brother” to the similar sounding אַךְ (’akh, “surely; but”) which occurs in v. 15 before the verb פָּדָה (padah, “ransom”). If this reading is accepted the Qal imperfect יִפְדֶּה (yifddeh, “he can [not] ransom”) would need to be emended to a Niphal (passive) form, יִפָּדֶה (yifadeh, “he can[not] be ransomed”) unless one understands the subject of the Qal verb to be indefinite (“one cannot redeem a man”). (A Niphal imperfect can be collocated with a Qal infinitive absolute. See GKC 344-45 §113.w.) No matter how one decides the textual issues, the imperfect in this case is modal, indicating potential, and the infinitive absolute emphasizes the statement.

[49:7]  ² tn Heb “he cannot pay to God his ransom price.” Num 35:31 may supply the legal background for the metaphorical language used here. The psalmist pictures God as having a claim on the soul of the individual. When God comes to claim the life that ultimately belongs to him, he demands a ransom price that is beyond the capability of anyone to pay. The psalmist’s point is that God has ultimate authority over life and death; all the money in the world cannot buy anyone a single day of life beyond what God has decreed.

[49:8]  ³ tn Heb “their life.” Some emend the text to “his life,” understanding the antecedent of the pronoun as “brother” in v. 7. However, the man and brother of v. 7 are representative of the human race in general, perhaps explaining why a plural pronoun appears in v. 8. Of course, the plural pronoun could refer back to “the rich” mentioned in v. 6. Another option (the one assumed in the translation) is that the suffixed mem is enclitic. In this case the “ransom price for human life” is referred to an abstract, general way.

[49:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “and one ceases forever.” The translation assumes an indefinite subject which in turn is representative of the entire human race (“one,” that refers to human beings without exception). The verb חָדַל (khadal, “cease”) is understood in the sense of “come to an end; fail” (i.e., die). Another option is to translate, “and one ceases/refrains forever.” In this case the idea is that the living, convinced of the reality of human mortality, give up all hope of “buying off” God and refrain from trying to do so.

[49:9]  ⁵ tn The jussive verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive is taken as indicating purpose/result in relation to the statement made in v. 8. (On this use of the jussive after an imperfect, see GKC 322 §109.f.) In this case v. 8 is understood as a parenthetical comment.

[49:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “see the Pit.” The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 55:24; 103:4).

[30:23]  ⁷ tn The imperfect verb would be a progressive imperfect, it is future, but it is also already underway.

[3:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “of the sons of man.”

[8:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “There is not a man who has mastery over the wind to restrain the wind.”

[8:8]  ¹⁰ tn The word “his” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “There is no discharge in war.”

[8:8]  ¹² tn Heb “its owners.”

[9:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “for their memory is forgotten.” The pronominal suffix is an objective genitive, “memory of them.”

[12:7]  ¹⁴ tn Or “spirit.” The likely referent is the life’s breath that originates with God. See Eccl 3:19, as well as Gen 2:7; 6:17; 7:22.

[9:27]  ¹⁵ tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

[9:27]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and after this – judgment.”