1Dem Chorleiter. Ein Psalmlied von den Söhnen Korachs.2Hört dies an, ihr Völker alle, / merkt auf, alle Bewohner der Welt;3Menschenkinder, Herrensöhne, / miteinander Arm und Reich!4Mein Mund soll Weisheitsworte künden, / mein Herz bemüht sich um Einsicht.5Mein Ohr ist für die Weisheit offen / und beim Zitherspiel erkläre ich den Spruch.6Warum soll ich mich fürchten in schlimmer Zeit, / wenn menschliche Bosheit mich umstellt?7Sie verlassen sich auf ihr Vermögen, / mit ihrem großen Reichtum geben sie an.8Doch keiner kann sein Leben kaufen, / indem er Gott das Geld dafür gibt.9Für das Leben ist jeder Kaufpreis zu hoch, / den kann man niemals erbringen.10Kein Mensch lebt für immer fort, / am Sterben führt kein Weg vorbei.11Denn man sieht: Die Weisen sterben. / Auch Tor und Dummkopf kommen um. / Ihr Vermögen lassen sie andern.12Sie denken, ihre Häuser blieben ewig, / ihre Wohnungen hätten für immer Bestand; selbst Ländereien hatten sie nach sich benannt.13Kein Mensch bleibt ewig in Prunk und Pracht, / am Ende geht er zugrunde wie das Vieh.14So geht es denen, die auf sich selbst vertrauen, / so enden die, denen nur das eigene Geschwätz gefällt. ♪15Wie Schafe weidet sie der Tod. / Sie sinken ins Totenreich hinab. / Ihre Häuser verfallen, / ihr Körper verwest. / Und dann sind Aufrichtige an der Macht.16Mein Leben aber wird von Gott erlöst, / er reißt mich heraus aus den Krallen des Todes. ♪17Fürchte dich nicht, wenn ein Mann sich bereichert, / wenn der Wohlstand seines Hauses sich mehrt.18Denn im Tod nimmt er das alles nicht mit, / sein Reichtum folgt ihm nicht ins Grab.19Wenn er sich auch sein Leben lang lobt / und sich sagt: „Man schmeichelt dir, wenn du es dir gut gehen lässt!“,20so muss er doch dorthin, wo seine Väter sind, / von denen keiner mehr das Licht erblickt.21Der Mensch ist ohne Einsicht in all seiner Pracht: / Am Ende geht er zugrunde wie das Vieh.
For the director of music. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.
1Hear this, all you nations. Listen, all you who live in this world.2Listen, people, whether you are ordinary or important. Listen, people, whether you are rich or poor.3My mouth will speak wise words. What I think about in my heart will give you understanding.4I will pay attention to a proverb. I will explain my riddle as I play the harp.5Why should I be afraid when trouble comes? Why should I fear when sinners are all around me? They are the kind of people who want to take advantage of me.6They trust in their wealth. They boast about how rich they are.7No one can pay for the life of anyone else. No one can give God what that would cost.8The price for a life is very high. No payment is ever enough.9No one can pay enough to live for ever and not rot in the grave.10Everyone can see that even wise people die. People who are foolish and who have no sense also pass away. All of them leave their wealth to others.11Their tombs will remain their houses for ever. Their graves will be their homes for all time to come. Naming lands after themselves won’t help either.12Even though people may be very rich, they don’t live on and on. They are like the animals. They die.13That’s what happens to those who trust in themselves. It also happens to their followers, who agree with what they say.14They are like sheep and will end up in the grave. Death will be their shepherd. But when honest people come to power, a new day will dawn. The bodies of sinners will waste away in the grave. They will end up far away from their princely houses.15But God will save me from the place of the dead. He will certainly take me to himself.16Don’t get too upset when other people become rich. Don’t be troubled when they become more and more wealthy.17They won’t take anything with them when they die. Their riches won’t go down to the grave with them.18While they lived, they believed they were blessed. People praised them when things were going well for them.19But they will die, like their people of long ago. They will never again see the light of life.20People who have riches but don’t understand are like the animals. They die.
1To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, (Ps 42,1; Ps 78,1; Jes 1,2; Mi 1,2)2both low and high, rich and poor together! (Ps 62,9)3My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. (Spr 1,20; Spr 9,1)4I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre. (4Mo 12,8; Ps 78,2; Spr 1,6; Mt 13,35)5Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, (Ps 37,1; Ps 94,13)6those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? (Hi 31,24; Ps 52,7; Spr 11,28; Mk 10,24)7Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, (Hi 33,24; Mt 16,26; Mt 25,9)8for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, (Hi 36,18)9that he should live on forever and never see the pit. (Ps 16,10; Ps 89,48)10For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. (Ps 39,6; Ps 73,22; Ps 92,6; Ps 94,8; Spr 30,2; Pred 2,16)11Their graves are their homes forever,[1] their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. (1Mo 4,17; Ps 5,9; Ps 10,6; Ps 64,6)12Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish. (Ps 39,5; Ps 49,20; Ps 82,7; Pred 3,19)13This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts.[2] (Lk 12,20)14Like 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. (Hi 24,19; Ps 39,11; Dan 7,22; Mal 4,3; Lk 22,30; 1Kor 6,2; Offb 2,26; Offb 20,4)15But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. (1Mo 5,24; Ps 16,11; Ps 17,15; Ps 73,24; Dan 12,2; Hos 13,14)16Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases.17For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. (Hi 27,19; 1Tim 6,7)18For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself— (5Mo 29,19; Ps 10,3; Ps 36,2; Lk 12,19)19his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. (1Mo 15,15; Hi 33,30; Ps 56,13)20Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish. (Ps 49,12)