²⁴ “Have I put my trust in money
    or felt secure because of my gold?

²⁸ Trust in your money and down you go!
    But the godly flourish like leaves in spring.

⁷ “Look what happens to mighty warriors
    who do not trust in God.
They trust their wealth instead
    and grow more and more bold in their wickedness.”

⁶ They trust in their wealth
    and boast of great riches.
⁷ Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death^[a]
    by paying a ransom to God.

⁹ For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?”
    And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.

¹⁵ The wealth of the rich is their fortress;
    the poverty of the poor is their destruction.

¹⁰ Don’t make your living by extortion
    or put your hope in stealing.
And if your wealth increases,
    don’t make it the center of your life.

¹⁷ For when they die, they take nothing with them.
    Their wealth will not follow them into the grave.