• Why Should I Fear in Days of Evil?

  • 1 Hear this, all peoples; Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
  • 2 Both low and high, Rich and poor together.
  • 3 My mouth will speak wisdom, And the meditation of my heart will be discernment.
  • 4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle on the harp.
  • 5 Why should I fear in days of evil, When the iniquity of my supplanters surrounds me,
  • 6 Even those who trust in their wealth And boast in the abundance of their riches?
  • 7 Truly, no man can redeem his brother; He cannot give to God a ransom for him—
  • 8 For the redemption price for their soul is costly, And it ceases forever—
  • 9 That he should live on eternally, That he should not see corruption.
  • 10 For he sees that even wise men die; The fool and the senseless alike perish And leave their wealth to others.
  • 11 Their inner thought is that their houses are forever And their dwelling places from generation to generation; They have called their lands after their own names.
  • 12 But man in his honor will not endure; He is like the animals that perish.
  • 13 This is the way of those who are foolish, And of those after them who are pleased with their words. Selah.
  • 14 As sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Death will shepherd them; And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning, And their form shall be for Sheol to consume, Far away from his habitation.
  • 15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, For He will receive me. Selah.
  • 16 Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich, When the glory of his house increases;
  • 17 For when he dies he will not take any of it; His glory will not descend after him.
  • 18 For while he lives he blesses his soul— And men will praise you when you do well for yourself—
  • 19 But his soul shall go to the generation of his fathers; They will eternally not see light.
  • 20 Man in his honor, but who does not understand, Is like the animals that perish.