| 1 | Hear this, all you peoples. Listen, all you inhabitants of the world, |
| 2 | both low and high, rich and poor together. |
| 3 | My mouth will speak words of wisdom. My heart shall utter understanding. |
| 4 | I will incline my ear to a proverb. I will open my riddle on the harp. |
| 5 | Why should I fear in the days of evil, when iniquity at my heels surrounds me? |
| 6 | Those who trust in their wealth, and boast in the multitude of their riches-- |
| 7 | none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give God a ransom for him. |
| 8 | For the redemption of their life is costly, no payment is ever enough, |
| 9 | That he should live on forever, that he should not see corruption. |
| 10 | For he sees that wise men die; likewise the fool and the senseless perish, and leave their wealth to others. |
| 11 | Their inward thought is that their houses will endure forever, and their dwelling places to all generations. They name their lands after themselves. |
| 12 | But man, despite his riches, doesn't endure. He is like the animals that perish. |
| 13 | This is the destiny of those who are foolish, and of those who approve their sayings. Selah. |
| 14 | They are appointed as a flock for Sheol . Death shall be their shepherd. The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning. Their beauty shall decay in Sheol, far from their mansion. |
| 15 | But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah. |
| 16 | Don't be afraid when a man is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased. |
| 17 | For when he dies he shall carry nothing away. His glory shall not descend after him. |
| 18 | Though while he lived he blessed his soul-- and men praise you when you do well for yourself-- |
| 19 | he shall go to the generation of his fathers. They shall never see the light. |
| 20 | A man who has riches without understanding, is like the animals that perish. A Psalm by Asaph. |
