1 Hear ye, this all ye peoples, Give ear, all ye inhabitants of this passing world;

2 Both sons of the low, And sons of the high,—Together both rich and needy:—

3 My mouth, shall speak forth Wisdom, And the soft utterance of my heart be Understanding:

4 I will bend, to a by-word, mine ear, I will open, on the lyre, mine enigma.

5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of calamity, Though the iniquity of them who lie in wait for me should enclose me?

6 As for them who are trusting in their wealth,—And, in the abundance of their riches, do boast themselves,

7 A brother, can none of them, redeem, he cannot give unto God a ransom for himself:

8 So costly, is the redemption of their soul, That it faileth unto times age-abiding;

9 That he should, yet, live on, continually, Should not see corruption.

10 For it is seen that, the wise, die, Together with the dullard, and the brutish, do they perish, And leave, to others, their wealth:

11 Their, inward thought, is that their houses are for times age-abiding, Their habitations, for generation after generation,—They give their own names unto lands!

12 But, a son of earth, though wealthy, cannot tarry, He hath made himself a by-word—Beasts, they resemble:

13 This, their way, is a folly to them, And yet, their followers, with their mouth, approve. [Selah.]

14 Like sheep—into hades, are they driven, Death shall shepherd them,—And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning, Even their form, is to decay, Hades, is all that remaineth of a habitation for him.

15 But, God, will redeem my soul, out of the hand of hades, For he will take me. [Selah.]

16 Do not fear, When a man becometh rich, When the glory of his house increaseth;

17 For, when he dieth, he shall take, nothing, his glory shall not descend after him;

18 For, though, his own self—while he lived, he used to bless, And they will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself,

19 He shall enter as far as the circle of his fathers, Nevermore, shall they see the light.

20 A son of earth though wealthy, who discerneth not, Hath made himself a by-word, Beasts, they resemble.