[1] Hear this, all ye peoples; Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world,
[2] Both low and high, Rich and poor together.
[3] My mouth shall speak wisdom; And the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
[4] I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
[5] Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, When iniquity at my heels compasseth me about?
[6] They that trust in their wealth, And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
[7] None of them can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him
[8] (For the redemption of their life is costly, And it faileth for ever),
[9] That he should still live alway, That he should not see corruption.
[10] For he shall see it. Wise men die; The fool and the brutish alike perish, And leave their wealth to others.
[11] 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.
[12] But man being in honor abideth not: He is like the beasts that perish.
[13] This their way is their folly: Yet after them men approve their sayings. [Selah
[14] They are appointed as a flock for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd: And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; And their beauty shall be for Sheol to consume, That there be no habitation for it.
[15] But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol; For he will receive me. [Selah
[16] Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, When the glory of his house is increased:
[17] For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away; His glory shall not descend after him.
[18] Though while he lived he blessed his soul (And men praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself),
[19] He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see the light.
[20] Man that is in honor, and understandeth not, Is like the beasts that perish.