English Standard Version ESV
The Message Bible MSG
1 Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
1
Listen, everyone, listen - earth-dwellers, don't miss this.
2 both low and high, rich and poor together!
2
All you haves and have-nots, All together now: listen.
3 My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
3
I set plainspoken wisdom before you, my heart-seasoned understandings of life.
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.
4
I fine-tuned my ear to the sayings of the wise, I solve life's riddle with the help of a harp.
5 Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
5
So why should I fear in bad times, hemmed in by enemy malice,
6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?
6
Shoved around by bullies, demeaned by the arrogant rich?
7 Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life,
7
Really! There's no such thing as self-rescue, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.
8 for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice,
8
The cost of rescue is beyond our means, and even then it doesn't guarantee
9 that he should live on forever and never see the pit.
9
Life forever, or insurance against the Black Hole.
10 For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others.
10
Anyone can see that the brightest and best die, wiped out right along with fools and dunces.
11 Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names.
11
They leave all their prowess behind, move into their new home, The Coffin, The cemetery their permanent address. And to think they named counties after themselves!
12 Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish.
12
We aren't immortal. We don't last long. Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.
13 This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah
13
This is what happens to those who live for the moment, who only look out for themselves:
14 Like 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.
14
Death herds them like sheep straight to hell; they disappear down the gullet of the grave; They waste away to nothing - nothing left but a marker in a cemetery.
15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah
15
But me? God snatches me from the clutch of death, he reaches down and grabs me.
16 Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases.
16
So don't be impressed with those who get rich and pile up fame and fortune.
17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him.
17
They can't take it with them; fame and fortune all get left behind.
18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed --and though you get praise when you do well for yourself--
18
Just when they think they've arrived and folks praise them because they've made good,
19 his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light.
19
They enter the family burial plot where they'll never see sunshine again.
20 Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.
20
We aren't immortal. We don't last long. Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.