1 Hear this, all peoples; listen, all who live in the world,
2 both the common and the high-born, rich and needy together.
3 My mouth will speak wisdom, and the musing of my heart is understanding.
4 I will turn my ear to a parable; I will unfold my riddle on the lyre.
5 Why should I be afraid in evil days, when the iniquity of those who dog my heels encircles me,
6 those who rely on their wealth and boast of the greatness of their riches?
7 Truly no man can ransom a brother, nor give to God his ransom,
8 for the ransom of their soul is too costly, and one must abandon it forever,
9 that he should go on living always and never see the pit.
10 For he will see that the wise die; the fool and the senseless perish together and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their inward thought is that their houses are forever, their dwellings from generation to generation; they have called lands after their own names.
12 But man in his honor will not lodge overnight; he is like the beasts that are cut off.
13 This is the way of the foolishly confident, and of those after them who take pleasure in their words. Selah.
14 Like sheep they are set down in Sheol; death will be their shepherd, and the upright will have dominion over them in the morning; their form will wear away in Sheol, far from its lofty dwelling.
15 But God will ransom my soul from the grip of Sheol, for he will take me. Selah.
16 Do not fear when a man grows rich, when the glory of his house becomes great.
17 For in his death he will take nothing; his glory will not follow him down.
18 Though in his lifetime he blessed his soul, and men praise you when you do well for yourself,
19 he will come to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light.
20 Man in his honor, yet without understanding, is like the beasts that are cut off.