both low and high,

rich and poor together.

My mouth will speak words of wisdom.

My heart shall utter understanding.

I will incline my ear to a proverb.

I will open my riddle on the harp.

Why should I fear in the days of evil,

when iniquity at my heels surrounds me?

none of them can by any means redeem his brother,

nor give God a ransom for him.

That he should live on forever,

that he should not see corruption.

For he sees that wise men die;

likewise the fool and the senseless perish,

and leave their wealth to others.

Their inward thought is that their houses will endure forever,

and their dwelling places to all generations.

They name their lands after themselves.

But man, despite his riches, doesn’t endure.

He is like the animals that perish.

This is the destiny of those who are foolish,

and of those who approve their sayings.

Selah.

They are appointed as a flock for Sheol ▼

▼Sheol is the place of the dead.

.

Death shall be their shepherd.

The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning.

Their beauty shall decay in Sheol ▼

▼Sheol is the place of the dead.

,

far from their mansion.

But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol ▼

▼Sheol is the place of the dead.

,

for he will receive me.

Selah.

Don’t be afraid when a man is made rich,

when the glory of his house is increased.

For when he dies he shall carry nothing away.

His glory shall not descend after him.

he shall go to the generation of his fathers.

They shall never see the light.

A man who has riches without understanding,

is like the animals that perish.