| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Hear 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, And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding. | 3For my words are wise, and my thoughts are filled with insight. |
| 4I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will disclose my dark saying on the harp. | 4I listen carefully to many proverbs and solve riddles with inspiration from a harp. |
| 5Why should I fear in the days of evil, When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me? | 5Why should I fear when trouble comes, when enemies surround me? |
| 6Those who trust in their wealth And boast in the multitude of their riches, | 6They trust in their wealth and boast of great riches. |
| 7None of them can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him— | 7Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death by paying a ransom to God. |
| 8For the redemption of their souls is costly, And it shall cease forever— | 8Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enough |
| 9That he should continue to live eternally, And not see the Pit. | 9to live forever and never see the grave. |
| 10For he sees wise men die; Likewise the fool and the senseless person 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 inner thought is that their houses will last forever, Their dwelling places to all generations; They call their lands after their own names. | 11The grave is their eternal home, where they will stay forever. They may name their estates after themselves, |
| 12Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain; He is like the beasts that perish. | 12but their fame will not last. They will die, just like animals. |
| 13This is the way of those who are foolish, And of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah | 13This is the fate of fools, though they are remembered as being wise. Interlude |
| 14Like sheep they are laid in the grave; Death shall feed on them; The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; And their beauty shall be consumed in the grave, far from their dwelling. | 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 redeem my soul from the power of the grave, For He shall receive me. Selah | 15But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of the grave. Interlude |
| 16Do not be afraid when one becomes rich, When the glory of his house is increased; | 16So don’t be dismayed when the wicked grow rich and their homes become ever more splendid. |
| 17For when he dies he shall carry nothing away; His glory shall not descend after him. | 17For when they die, they take nothing with them. Their wealth will not follow them into the grave. |
| 18Though while he lives he blesses himself (For men will praise you when you do well for yourself), | 18In this life they consider themselves fortunate and are applauded for their success. |
| 19He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see light. | 19But they will die like all before them and never again see the light of day. |
| 20A man who is in honor, yet does not understand, Is like the beasts that perish. | 20People who boast of their wealth don’t understand; they will die, just like animals. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. 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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