| Holman Christian Standard Bible | NET Bible |
| 1For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah. Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who inhabit the world, | 1For the music director, a psalm by the Korahites. Listen to this, all you nations! Pay attention, all you inhabitants of the world! |
| 2both low and high, rich and poor together. | 2Pay attention, all you people, both rich and poor! |
| 3My mouth speaks wisdom; my heart's meditation brings understanding. | 3I will declare a wise saying; I will share my profound thoughts. |
| 4I turn my ear to a proverb; I explain my riddle with a lyre. | 4I will learn a song that imparts wisdom; I will then sing my insightful song to the accompaniment of a harp. |
| 5Why should I fear in times of trouble? The iniquity of my foes surrounds me. | 5Why should I be afraid in times of trouble, when the sinful deeds of deceptive men threaten to overwhelm me? |
| 6They trust in their wealth and boast of their abundant riches. | 6They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches. |
| 7Yet these cannot redeem a person or pay his ransom to God-- | 7Certainly a man cannot rescue his brother; he cannot pay God an adequate ransom price |
| 8since the price of redeeming him is too costly, one should forever stop trying-- | 8(the ransom price for a human life is too high, and people go to their final destiny), |
| 9so that he may live forever and not see the Pit. | 9so that he might continue to live forever and not experience death. |
| 10For one can see that wise men die; foolish and stupid men also pass away. Then they leave their wealth to others. | 10Surely one sees that even wise people die; fools and spiritually insensitive people all pass away and leave their wealth to others. |
| 11Their graves are their eternal homes, their homes from generation to generation, though they have named estates after themselves. | 11Their grave becomes their permanent residence, their eternal dwelling place. They name their lands after themselves, |
| 12But despite his assets, man will not last; he is like the animals that perish. | 12but, despite their wealth, people do not last, they are like animals that perish. |
| 13This is the way of those who are arrogant, and of their followers, who approve of their words. Selah | 13This is the destiny of fools, and of those who approve of their philosophy. (Selah) |
| 14Like sheep they are headed for Sheol; Death will shepherd them. The upright will rule over them in the morning, and their form will waste away in Sheol, far from their lofty abode. | 14They will travel to Sheol like sheep, with death as their shepherd. The godly will rule over them when the day of vindication dawns; Sheol will consume their bodies and they will no longer live in impressive houses. |
| 15But God will redeem my life from the power of Sheol, for He will take me. Selah | 15But God will rescue my life from the power of Sheol; certainly he will pull me to safety. (Selah) |
| 16Do not be afraid when a man gets rich, when the wealth of his house increases. | 16Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich and his wealth multiplies! |
| 17For when he dies, he will take nothing at all; his wealth will not follow him down. | 17For he will take nothing with him when he dies; his wealth will not follow him down into the grave. |
| 18Though he praises himself during his lifetime-- and people praise you when you do well for yourself-- | 18He pronounces this blessing on himself while he is alive: "May men praise you, for you have done well!" |
| 19he will go to the generation of his fathers; they will never see the light. | 19But he will join his ancestors; they will never again see the light of day. |
| 20A man with valuable possessions but without understanding is like the animals that perish. | 20Wealthy people do not understand; they are like animals that perish. |
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