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¹ Hear this, all you peoples;
    give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
² both low and high,
    rich and poor together.
³ My mouth shall speak wisdom;
    the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
⁴ I will incline my ear to a proverb;
    I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp.

⁵ Why should I fear in times of trouble,
    when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,
⁶ those who trust in their wealth
    and boast of the abundance of their riches?
⁷ Truly, no ransom avails for one's life,^[a]
    there is no price one can give to God for it.
⁸ For the ransom of life is costly,
    and can never suffice,
⁹ that one should live on forever
    and never see the grave.^[b]

¹⁰ When we look at the wise, they die;
    fool and dolt perish together
    and leave their wealth to others.
¹¹ Their graves^[c] are their homes forever,
    their dwelling places to all generations,
    though they named lands their own.
¹² Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
    they are like the animals that perish.

¹³ Such is the fate of the foolhardy,
    the end of those^[d] who are pleased with their lot.Selah
¹⁴ Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
    Death shall be their shepherd;
straight to the grave they descend,^[e]
    and their form shall waste away;
    Sheol shall be their home.^[f]
15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
    for he will receive me.Selah

¹⁶ Do not be afraid when some become rich,
    when the wealth of their houses increases.
¹⁷ For when they die they will carry nothing away;
    their wealth will not go down after them.
¹⁸ Though in their lifetime they count themselves happy
    —for you are praised when you do well for yourself—
¹⁹ they^[g] will go to the company of their ancestors,
    who will never again see the light.
²⁰ Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
    they are like the animals that perish.