1Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all you who live in the world:
2both low and high, rich and poor together.
3My mouth will speak wisdom, and the thoughts of my heart will be of understanding.
4I will turn my ear to a parable. I will open my riddle with the harp.
5Why should I be afraid in the days of evil, when the sin of my heels surrounds me?
6They trust in their wealth, and boast in how great their riches are.
7Not one of them can by any means redeem his brother, or give God a ransom for him.
8(For the redemption of their soul is costly, and it can never be paid.)
9So that he should go on living for ever, and not see decay.
10For he sees that wise men die. The fool and the senseless person die too, and leave their wealth to others.
11Inside, they think their houses will last for ever, and their homes will go on for all generations. They name their lands after themselves.
12Yet a man in honour does not remain. He is like the beasts that die.
13This way of theirs is their folly, yet those who come after them approve their sayings. Selah.
14Like sheep they are laid in the grave. Death will feed on them. In the morning the upright will rule over them, and their beauty will waste away in the grave, far from their home.
15But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for he will receive me. Selah.
16Do not be afraid when someone is made rich, when the glory of his house grows great.
17For when he dies he will carry nothing away. His glory will not go down after him.
18Though while he lived he called himself blessed; and people will praise you when you do well for yourself.
19He will go to the generation of his fathers; they will never see light.
20A man in honour who has no understanding is like the beasts that die.