⁴I will incline my ear to a proverb;
   I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp.

⁵Why should I fear in times of trouble,
   when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,
⁶those who trust in their wealth
   and boast of the abundance of their riches?
⁷Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life,^*
   there is no price one can give to God for it.
⁸For the ransom of life is costly,
   and can never suffice,
⁹that one should live on for ever
   and never see the grave.^*

¹⁰When we look at the wise, they die;
   fool and dolt perish together
   and leave their wealth to others.
¹¹Their graves^* are their homes for ever,
   their dwelling-places to all generations,
   though they named lands their own.
¹²Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
   they are like the animals that perish.

¹³Such is the fate of the foolhardy,
   the end of those^* who are pleased with their lot.
          Selah
¹⁴Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
   Death shall be their shepherd;
straight to the grave they descend,^*
   and their form shall waste away;
   Sheol shall be their home.^*
15But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
   for he will receive me.
          Selah