1. 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.
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.