| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, | 1Listen to this, all you people! Pay attention, everyone in the world! |
| 2both low and high, rich and poor together! | 2High and low, rich and poor—listen! |
| 3My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. | 3For my words are wise, and my thoughts are filled with insight. |
| 4I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre. | 4I listen carefully to many proverbs and solve riddles with inspiration from a harp. |
| 5Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, | 5Why should I fear when trouble comes, when enemies surround me? |
| 6those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? | 6They trust in their wealth and boast of great riches. |
| 7Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, | 7Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death by paying a ransom to God. |
| 8for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, | 8Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enough |
| 9that he should live on forever and never see the pit. | 9to live forever and never see the grave. |
| 10For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. | 10Those who are wise must finally die, just like the foolish and senseless, leaving all their wealth behind. |
| 11Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. | 11The grave is their eternal home, where they will stay forever. They may name their estates after themselves, |
| 12Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish. | 12but their fame will not last. They will die, just like animals. |
| 13This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah | 13This is the fate of fools, though they are remembered as being wise. Interlude |
| 14Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell. | 14Like sheep, they are led to the grave, where death will be their shepherd. In the morning the godly will rule over them. Their bodies will rot in the grave, far from their grand estates. |
| 15But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah | 15But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of the grave. Interlude |
| 16Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. | 16So don’t be dismayed when the wicked grow rich and their homes become ever more splendid. |
| 17For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. | 17For when they die, they take nothing with them. Their wealth will not follow them into the grave. |
| 18For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed—and though you get praise when you do well for yourself— | 18In this life they consider themselves fortunate and are applauded for their success. |
| 19his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. | 19But they will die like all before them and never again see the light of day. |
| 20Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish. | 20People who boast of their wealth don’t understand; they will die, just like animals. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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