¹ Listen up, everyone!
    All you who reside in this world, give an ear!
² Everyone—rich and poor,
    young and old, wise and foolish, humble and mighty—
³ My mouth will overflow with wisdom;
    the reflections of my heart will guide you to understand the nature of life.
⁴ I will tune my ear to the words of a proverb;
    to the sounds of a harp, I will reveal my riddle.

⁵ Why should I be afraid when dark evils swirl about me,
    when I am walking among the sin of evildoers—
⁶ Those who depend on their own fortunes,
    who boast about their earthly riches?
⁷ One person can’t grant salvation to another
    or make a payment to the True God for another.
⁸ Redeeming a life is costly;
    no premium is enough, ever enough,
⁹ That one’s body might live on forever
    and never fear the grave’s decay.

¹⁰ Everyone knows that even the wisest ones die,
    perishing together with the foolish and the stupid.
For all die—beggars and kings, fools and wise men.
    Their wealth remains behind for others.
¹¹ Although they wish to dwell in fine houses forever,
    their graves are their real resting places.
    Their homes are for all future generations,
    yet for a while they have named lands after themselves.
¹² [No one, regardless of how rich or important, can live forever;
    he is]^[a] just like the animals that perish and decay.

24 Do not envy evil people
    or seek their friendship;
²     For they are conniving and violent,
    and all they talk about is causing trouble.

³ Wisdom is required to build a house;
    understanding is necessary to make it secure.
⁴ Knowledge is needed to furnish all the rooms
    and fill them with beautiful treasures.
⁵ A wise man possesses great strength,
    and an intelligent man knows how to increase it;
⁶ For with wise guidance, you can wage a successful war,
    and with a council of many advisors, you will be victorious!
⁷ Fools can’t grab hold of wisdom; it’s out of their reach;
    they dare not open their mouths in public for no one would listen anyway.

⁸ Whoever schemes to carry out evil
    will be labeled a troublemaker.
⁹ Such foolish plans are sinful,
    and the mocker is deplored by all.

¹⁰ If you fall apart during a crisis,
    then you weren’t very strong to begin with.
¹¹ Rescue everyone you can of those being taken away and killed,
    and hold on to those innocent souls staggering toward their own slaughter.
¹² If you excuse yourself, saying, “Look, we didn’t know anything about this,”
    doesn’t God, who knows what you are really thinking, understand your motives?
Isn’t your Protector aware of why you aren’t protecting the innocent?
    Will He not repay you in kind?