Why Should I Fear in Days of Evil?

For the choir director. Of the sons of Korah. A Psalm.

1Hear this, all peoples;

Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

2Both [†]low and [†]high,

Rich and poor together.

3My mouth will speak wisdom,

And the meditation of my heart will be discernment.

4I will incline my ear to a proverb;

I will [†]express my riddle on the harp.

5Why should I fear in days of evil,

When the iniquity of my [†]supplanters surrounds me,

6Even those who trust in their wealth

And boast in the abundance of their riches?

7Truly, no man can redeem his brother;

He cannot give to God a ransom for him—

8For the redemption price for their soul is costly,

And it ceases forever—

9That he should live on eternally,

That he should not see [†]corruption.

10For he sees that even wise men die;

The [†]fool and the senseless alike perish

And leave their wealth to others.

11Their [†]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.

12But man in his honor will not endure;

He is like the animals that [†]perish.

13This is the way of those who are foolish,

And of those after them who are pleased [†]with their words. [†]Selah.

14As 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.

15But God will redeem my soul from the [†]power of Sheol,

For He will receive me. Selah.

16Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich,

When the [†]glory of his house increases;

17For when he dies he will not take any of it;

His [†]glory will not descend after him.

18For while he lives he blesses his soul—

And men will praise you when you do well for yourself—

19But his soul shall go to the generation of his fathers;

They will eternally not see light.

20Man in his honor, but who does not understand,

Is like the animals that [†]perish.