Read the Bible

¹ HEAR this, all people; give ear, all inhabitants of the world,² Children of earth and sons of men, rich and poor together.³ My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.⁴ I will incline my ear to parables; I will chant my proverbs upon the harp.⁵ I will fear not in days of evil, when the iniquity of my enemies shall surround me,

⁶ They who trust in their own strength and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches.⁷ A brother cannot save a brother, nor can a man give to God a ransom for himself;⁸ For the redemption of their souls is precious:⁹ Do good for ever and you shall live for ever, and not see corruption.¹⁰ But you will see wise men die; likewise the fool and the weak minded shall perish and leave their wealth to others.¹¹ Their graves shall be their only habitations for ever, and their dwelling places throughout generations; their marked graves will be their only remembrance on earth.¹² Nevertheless, such a man is not sustained by his honour; his end will be as the beasts, and he will perish.¹³ This their way is their folly; in the end, demented, they will graze like cattle.¹⁴ Like sheep they are consigned to the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; the grave shall consume their beauty, and they shall be cast out from their glory.

¹⁵ But God will redeem my soul; from the power of the grave he will raise me up.¹⁶ Be not afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;¹⁷ For when he dies he shall carry nothing away; neither shall his glory descend after him.¹⁸ For while he lived, he lived comfortably; he praised you when you favored him.¹⁹ His end shall be as his fathers was before him; they shall never see light.²⁰ Man cannot depend upon his honor for consolation, for if he does, he resembles the wild beasts.