1  ^gHear this, all peoples!

Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

2  ^hboth low and high,

rich and poor together!

3  My mouth shall speak ⁱwisdom;

the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

4  I will incline my ear to ^ja proverb;

I will solve my ^kriddle to the music of the lyre.

5  ^lWhy should I fear in ^mtimes of trouble,

when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,

6  those who ⁿtrust in their wealth

and boast of the abundance of their riches?

7  Truly no man ^ocan ransom another,

or ^pgive to God ^qthe price of his life,

8  for ^rthe ransom of their life is costly

and can never suffice,

9  that he should live on forever

and ^snever see the pit.

10  For he sees ^tthat even the wise die;

^uthe fool and the stupid alike must perish

and ^vleave their wealth to others.

11  Their ^wgraves are their homes forever,¹

their dwelling places ^xto all generations,

though they ^ycalled lands by their own names.

12  Man in his pomp ^zwill not remain;

^ahe is like the beasts that perish.

13  This is the path of those who have ^bfoolish confidence;

yet after them people approve of their boasts.² Selah

14  Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;

death shall be their shepherd,

and the upright ^cshall rule over them in the morning.

^dTheir form shall be consumed ^ein Sheol, with no place to dwell.

15  But God will ^fransom my soul from the power of Sheol,

for he will ^greceive me. Selah

16  Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,

when the glory of his house increases.

17  ^hFor when he dies he will ⁱcarry nothing away;

his glory will not go down after him.

18  For though, while he lives, he counts himself ^jblessed—

and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—

19  his soul will ^kgo to the generation of his fathers,

who will never again ^lsee light.

20  ^mMan in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

“How the oppressor has ceased,

^vthe insolent fury² ceased!

5  The Lord has broken the ^wstaff of the wicked,

the ^wscepter of rulers,

6  ^xthat struck the peoples in wrath

with unceasing blows,

that ruled the nations in anger

with unrelenting persecution.

7  The whole earth is at rest and quiet;

^ythey break forth into singing.

8  ^zaThe cypresses rejoice at you,

^bthe cedars of Lebanon, saying,

‘Since you were laid low,

no woodcutter comes up against us.’

9  Sheol beneath is stirred up

to meet you when you come;

it rouses the shades to greet you,

all who were leaders of the earth;

it raises from their thrones

all who were kings of the nations.

10  ^cAll of them will answer

and say to you:

‘You too have become as weak as we!

You have become like us!’

11  Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,

the sound of your harps;

maggots are laid as a bed beneath you,

and worms are your covers.

12  “How ^dyou are fallen from heaven,

O Day Star, ^eson of Dawn!

How you are cut down to the ground,

you who laid the nations low!

13  You said in your heart,

^f‘I will ascend to heaven;

above the stars of God

^gI will set my throne on high;

I will sit on the mount of assembly

in the far reaches of the north;³

14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.’

15  ^hBut you are brought down to Sheol,

to the far reaches of the pit.

16  Those who see you will stare at you

and ponder over you:

‘Is this ⁱthe man who made the earth tremble,

who shook kingdoms,

17  who made the world like a desert

and overthrew its cities,

^jwho did not let his prisoners go home?’

18  All the kings of the nations lie in glory,

each in his own tomb;⁴

19  but you are cast out, away from your grave,

like a loathed branch,

^kclothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword,

who go down to the stones of the pit,

like a dead body trampled underfoot.

20  You will not be joined with them in burial,

because you have destroyed your land,

you have slain your people.

“May ^lthe offspring of evildoers

nevermore be named!

21  Prepare slaughter for his sons

^mbecause of the guilt of their fathers,

lest they rise and possess the earth,

and fill the face of the world with cities.”

24  The Lord of hosts has sworn:

^q“As I have planned,

so shall it be,

and as I have purposed,

so shall it stand,

25  that ^rI will break the Assyrian in my land,

and on my mountains trample him underfoot;

and ^shis yoke shall depart from them,

and ^shis burden from their shoulder.”

26  This is the purpose that is purposed

concerning the whole earth,

and this is ^tthe hand that is stretched out

over all the nations.

27  ^uFor the Lord of hosts has purposed,

and who will annul it?

^tHis hand is stretched out,

and who will turn it back?

29  Rejoice not, ^xO Philistia, all of you,

that ^ythe rod that struck you is broken,

for from the serpent’s root will come forth an adder,

and its fruit will be a ^zflying fiery serpent.

30  And the firstborn of ^athe poor will graze,

and ^athe needy lie down in safety;

but I will kill your root with famine,

and your remnant it will slay.

31  ^bWail, O ^cgate; cry out, O city;

melt in fear, ^xO Philistia, all of you!

^dFor smoke comes out of the north,

and there is no straggler in his ranks.

32  What will one answer the messengers of the nation?

^e“The Lord has founded Zion,

and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.”