Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

1 1Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
2 2both low and high, rich and poor together!
3 My mouth shall speak 3wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to 4a proverb; I will solve my 5riddle to the music of the lyre.
5 6Why should I fear in 7times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
6 those who 8trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?
7 Truly no man 9can ransom another, or 10give to God 11the price of his life,
8 for 12the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice,
9 that he should live on forever and 13never see the pit.
10 For he sees 14that even the wise die; 15the fool and the stupid alike must perish and 16leave their wealth to others.
11 Their 17graves are their homes forever,a their dwelling places 18to all generations, though they 19called lands by their own names.
12 Man in his pomp 20will not remain; 21he is like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the path of those who have 22foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts.b Selah
14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd, and the upright 23shall rule over them in the morning. 24Their form shall be consumed 25in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
15 But God will 26ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will 27receive me. Selah
16 Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases.
17 28For when he dies he will 29carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him.
18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself 30blessed --and though you get praise when you do well for yourself--
19 his soul will 31go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again 32see light.
20 33Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.