1   
Hear this, everyone!
Listen, all people everywhere,

2   
  great and small alike,
  rich and poor together.

3   
My thoughts will be clear;
  I will speak words of wisdom.

4   
I will turn my attention to proverbs
  and explain their meaning as I play the harp.

5   
I am not afraid in times of danger
  when I am surrounded by enemies,

6   
by evil men who trust in their riches
  and boast of their great wealth.

7   
A person can never redeem himself;
  he cannot pay God the price for his life,

8   
  because the payment for a human life is too great.
What he could pay would never be enough

9   
  to keep him from the grave,
  to let him live forever.

10   
Anyone can see that even wise men die,
  as well as foolish and stupid men.
  They all leave their riches to their descendants. ^note

11   
Their graves ^note are their homes forever;
  there they stay for all time,
  though they once had lands of their own.

12   
A man's greatness cannot keep him from death;
  he will still die like the animals.

13   
See what happens to those who trust in themselves,
  the fate of those ^note who are satisfied with their wealth—

14   
they are doomed to die like sheep,
  and Death will be their shepherd.
The righteous will triumph over them,
  as their bodies quickly decay
  in the world of the dead far from their homes. ^note

15   
But God will rescue me;
  he will save me from the power of death.

16   
Don't be upset when a man becomes rich,
  when his wealth grows even greater;

17   
he cannot take it with him when he dies;
  his wealth will not go with him to the grave.

18   
Even if a man is satisfied with this life
  and is praised because he is successful,

19   
he will join all his ancestors in death,
  where the darkness lasts forever.

20   
A man's greatness cannot keep him from death;
  he will still die like the animals.

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