1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Hear this, all you peoples; Give ear, all you inhabitants of the world,
2Both low and high, Rich and poor together.
3My mouth shall speak wisdom; And the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
4I will incline my ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
5Why should I fear in the days of evil, When iniquity at my heels surrounds me?
6Those who trust in their wealth, And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
7None 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 fails forever),
9That he should still live always, That he should not see corruption.
10For he shall see it. Wise men die; The fool and the brutish alike perish, And leave their wealth to others.
11Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue forever, And their dwelling places to all generations; They call their lands after their own names.
12But man being in honor does not abide: He is like the beasts that perish.
13This their way is their folly: Yet after them men approve their sayings. [Selah
14They 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 may be no habitation for it.
15But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol; For he will receive me. [Selah
16Do not be afraid when one is made rich, When the glory of his house is increased:
17For when he dies he shall carry nothing away; His glory shall not descend after him.
18Though while he lived he blessed his soul (And men praise you, when you do well to yourself),
19He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see the light.
20Man who is in honor, and does not understand, Is like the beasts that perish.