| 1 | For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Hear this, all ye peoples; Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world, |
| 2 | Both low and high, Rich and poor together. |
| 3 | My mouth shall speak 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 iniquity at my heels compasseth 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 life is costly, And it faileth for ever;) |
| 9 | That he should still live alway, That he should not see corruption. |
| 10 | For he shall see it. Wise men die; The fool and the brutish alike 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 | But man [being] in honor abideth not: He is like the beasts that perish. |
| 13 | This their way is their folly: Yet after them men approve their sayings. Selah |
| 14 | They 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 be no habitation for it. |
| 15 | But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol; For he will 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 praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself,) |
| 19 | He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see the light. |
| 20 | Man that is in honor, and understandeth not, Is like the beasts that perish. |