The Message Bible MSG
Young's Literal Translation YLT
1 Listen, everyone, listen - earth-dwellers, don't miss this.
1
To the Overseer. -- By sons of Korah. A Psalm. Hear this, all ye peoples, Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world.
2 All you haves and have-nots, All together now: listen.
2
Both low and high, together rich and needy.
3 I set plainspoken wisdom before you, my heart-seasoned understandings of life.
3
My mouth speaketh wise things, And the meditations of my heart [are] things of understanding.
4 I fine-tuned my ear to the sayings of the wise, I solve life's riddle with the help of a harp.
4
I incline to a simile mine ear, I open with a harp my riddle:
5 So why should I fear in bad times, hemmed in by enemy malice,
5
Why do I fear in days of evil? The iniquity of my supplanters doth compass me.
6 Shoved around by bullies, demeaned by the arrogant rich?
6
Those trusting on their wealth, And in the multitude of their riches, Do shew themselves foolish.
7 Really! There's no such thing as self-rescue, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.
7
A brother doth no one at all ransom, He doth not give to God his atonement.
8 The cost of rescue is beyond our means, and even then it doesn't guarantee
8
And precious [is] the redemption of their soul, And it hath ceased -- to the age.
9 Life forever, or insurance against the Black Hole.
9
And still he liveth for ever, He seeth not the pit.
10 Anyone can see that the brightest and best die, wiped out right along with fools and dunces.
10
For he seeth wise men die, Together the foolish and brutish perish, And have left to others their wealth.
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!
11
Their heart [is]: Their houses [are] to the age, Their tabernacles to all generations. They proclaimed their names over the lands.
12 We aren't immortal. We don't last long. Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.
12
And man in honour doth not remain, He hath been like the beasts, they have been cut off.
13 This is what happens to those who live for the moment, who only look out for themselves:
13
This their way [is] folly for them, And their posterity with their sayings are pleased. Selah.
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.
14
As sheep for Sheol they have set themselves, Death doth afflict them, And the upright rule over them in the morning, And their form [is] for consumption. Sheol [is] a dwelling for him.
15 But me? God snatches me from the clutch of death, he reaches down and grabs me.
15
Only, God doth ransom my soul from the hand of Sheol, For He doth receive me. Selah.
16 So don't be impressed with those who get rich and pile up fame and fortune.
16
Fear not, when one maketh wealth, When the honour of his house is abundant,
17 They can't take it with them; fame and fortune all get left behind.
17
For at his death he receiveth nothing, His honour goeth not down after him.
18 Just when they think they've arrived and folks praise them because they've made good,
18
For his soul in his life he blesseth, (And they praise thee when thou dost well for thyself.)
19 They enter the family burial plot where they'll never see sunshine again.
19
It cometh to the generation of his fathers, For ever they see not the light.
20 We aren't immortal. We don't last long. Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.
20
Man in honour, who understandest not, Hath been like the beasts, they have been cut off!
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.
Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain.