[1] Hear this, all ye peoples; Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world,
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[2] Both low and high, Rich and poor together.
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[3] My mouth shall speak wisdom; And the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
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[4] I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
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[5] Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, When iniquity at my heels compasseth me about?
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[6] They that trust in their wealth, And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
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[7] None of them can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him
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[8] (For the redemption of their life is costly, And it faileth for ever),
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[9] That he should still live alway, That he should not see corruption.
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[10] For he shall see it. Wise men die; The fool and the brutish alike perish, And leave their wealth to others.
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[11] Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, Andtheir dwelling-places to all generations; They call their lands after their own names.
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[12] But man being in honor abideth not: He is like the beasts that perish.
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[13] This their way is their folly: Yet after them men approve their sayings. [Selah
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[14] They are appointed as a flock for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd: And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; And their beauty shall be for Sheol to consume, That there be no habitation for it.
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[15] But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol; For he will receive me. [Selah
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[16] Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, When the glory of his house is increased:
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[17] For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away; His glory shall not descend after him.
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[18] Though while he lived he blessed his soul (And men praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself),
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[19] He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see the light.
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[20] Man that is in honor, and understandeth not, Is like the beasts that perish.
