1Hear this, all you peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,2both low and high, rich and poor together!3My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.4I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will open my riddle to the music of the lyre.5Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who dog my heels surrounds me—6those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?7Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life,8for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice,9that he should live on forever and never see the pit.10For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike perish and leave their wealth to others.11Their inward thought is that their houses shall endure forever, their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands by their own names.12But man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish.13This of course is the path of those who are foolish, yet after them people approve of their sayings. Selah14Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; straight to the grave they descend, and their form shall be consumed; Sheol shall be their dwelling.15But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah16Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases,17for when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him.18For though while he lives he counts himself blessed—and others praise you when you do well for yourself—19he will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light.20Man in his pomp, yet without understanding, is like the beasts that perish.