| 1 | <> Hear this, all [ye] people; give ear, all [ye] inhabitants of the world: |
| 2 | Both low and high, rich and poor, together. |
| 3 | My mouth shall speak of 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] the iniquity of my heels shall compass 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 soul [is] precious, and it ceaseth for ever:) |
| 9 | That he should still live for ever, [and] not see corruption. |
| 10 | For he seeth [that] wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person 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 | Nevertheless man [being] in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts [that] perish. |
| 13 | This their way [is] their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah. |
| 14 | Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling. |
| 15 | But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall 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] will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself. |
| 19 | He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light. |
| 20 | Man [that is] in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts [that] perish. |
