1 ¶ Hear this, all you people; give ear, all you inhabitants of the world:

2 Both high and low, rich and poor, together.

3 My mouth will speak wisely; and the meditation of my heart will be with understanding.

4 I will turn my ear to a proverb: I will clarify my puzzling thoughts upon the harp.

5 Why should I be afraid in the time of trouble, when the iniquity of my foes surrounds me?

6 ¶ Those who trust in their wealth, and brag of how very rich they are;

7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, or give God a ransom for him:

8 (For the price to be paid for their soul is too costly, and what they give will never suffice:)

9 So that he should live forever, and never see decay.

10 For he sees that even wise men die, the foolish and senseless also perish, and leave their wealth to others.

11 They call their lands after their own names, inwardly thinking that their houses will continue forever, and their dwellings for all ages.

12 Nevertheless a man with all his honor will not last: he is like the animals that perish.

13 This is the fate of arrogant fools: and of their followers who agree with what they taught. Selah.

14 Like sheep they must lie down in the grave; with death as their shepherd; and in the morning the upright will have dominion over them; and their beauty will be consumed for the grave will be their dwelling.

15 ¶ But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he will receive me. Selah.

16 Do not be afraid when a man gets rich, when the wealth of his house increases;

17 For when he dies he can take nothing with him: his wealth cannot follow him down there.

18 Though he may think that he is happy while he is living: and people praise you, when you do well for yourself.

19 He will join his fathers who lived before him; never again to see the light.

20 A man who has great honor, but lacks understanding, is like the beasts that perish.

Psalm 50

A Psalm of Asaph.

1 ¶ The mighty God, the LORD, speaks, and calls the earth from where the sun rises to where it sets.

2 God is shining from Zion, the perfection of beauty.

3 Our God will come, and will not keep silent: a fire will devour before him, and a mighty tempest will rage around about him.

4 He will call to the heavens above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.

5 Gather my saints to me; those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.

6 And the heavens will declare his righteousness: for God himself is judge. Selah.

7 ¶ Listen, O my people, and I will speak; listen O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God.

8 I will not reprove you for your sacrifices or for your burnt offerings, which have been continually before me.

9 But I do not need a bull from your house, or male goats from your folds.

10 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.

11 I know all the birds of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.

12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you: for the world is mine, and everything in it.

13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?

14 Offer to God thanksgiving; and do for the most High what you have vowed:

15 Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver you, and you will glorify me.

16 ¶ But God says to the wicked, What business do you have reciting my laws, or talking about my covenant?

17 Seeing that you hate to be corrected, and toss my words behind you.

18 When you saw a thief, you entered an agreement with him, and have joined with adulterers.

19 You give your mouth to evil, and your tongue frames deceit.

20 You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son.

21 You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought that I was just like you: but I will rebuke you, and will lay out the charges before you.

22 Now consider this, you who forget God, or I’ll tear you in pieces, and there will be nobody to rescue you.

23 Whoever offers praise glorifies me: and to those who set their life in order I will reveal the salvation of God.