In finem, filiis Core. Psalmus.

(To the choir-master. Of the sons of Core. A psalm.)

Unto the end, a psalm for the sons of Core.

Audite hæc, omnes gentes; auribus percipite, omnes qui habitatis orbem:

Listen, you nations far and wide; let all the world give hearing,

Hear these things, all ye nations: give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world.

quique terrigenæ et filii hominum, simul in unum dives et pauper.

poor clods of earth, and men nobly born, for rich and poor the same lesson.

All you that are earthborn, and you sons of men: both rich and poor together.

Os meum loquetur sapientiam, et meditatio cordis mei prudentiam.

Here are wise words, thoughts of a discerning heart;

My mouth shall speak wisdom: and the meditation of my heart understanding.

Inclinabo in parabolam aurem meam; aperiam in psalterio propositionem meam.

mine to overhear mysteries, and reveal, with the harp’s music, things of deep import.

I will incline my ear to a parable; I will open my proposition on the psaltery.

Cur timebo in die mala? iniquitas calcanei mei circumdabit me.

What need have I to be afraid in troubled times, when malice dogs my heels and overtakes me,

Why shall I fear in the evil day? the iniquity of my heel shall encompass me.

Qui confidunt in virtute sua, et in multitudine divitiarum suarum, gloriantur.

malice of foes who trust in their own strength, and boast of their great possessions?

They that trust in their own strength, and glory in the multitude of their riches,

Frater non redimit, redimet homo: non dabit Deo placationem suam,

No man can deliver himself from his human lot, paying a ransom-price to God;

No brother can redeem, nor shall man redeem: he shall not give to God his ransom,

et pretium redemptionis animæ suæ. Et laborabit in æternum;

too great is the cost of a man’s soul; never will the means be his

Nor the price of the redemption of his soul: and shall labour for ever,

et vivet adhuc in finem.

to prolong his days eternally and escape death.

and shall still live unto the end.

Non videbit interitum, cum viderit sapientes morientes: simul insipiens et stultus peribunt. Et relinquent alienis divitias suas,

True it is, wise men die; but reckless fools perish no less; their riches will go to others,

He shall not see destruction, when he shall see the wise dying: the senseless and the fool shall perish together: And they shall leave their riches to strangers:

et sepulchra eorum domus illorum in æternum; tabernacula eorum in progenie et progenie: vocaverunt nomina sua in terris suis.

and the grave will be their everlasting home. Age after age, they will live on there, under the fields they once called their own.

and their sepulchres shall be their houses for ever. Their dwelling places to all generations: they have called their lands by their names.

Et homo, cum in honore esset, non intellexit. Comparatus est jumentis insipientibus, et similis factus est illis.

Short is man’s enjoyment of earthly goods; match him with the brute beasts, and he is no better than they.

And man when he was in honour did not understand; he is compared to senseless beasts, and is become like to them.

Hæc via illorum scandalum ipsis; et postea in ore suo complacebunt.

Fatal path, that ensnares the reckless! Pitiful end of the men that love life!

This way of theirs is a stumbling-block to them: and afterwards they shall delight in their mouth.

Sicut oves in inferno positi sunt: mors depascet eos. Et dominabuntur eorum justi in matutino; et auxilium eorum veterascet in inferno a gloria eorum.

There they lie in the world beneath, huddled like sheep, with death for their shepherd, the just for their masters; soon, soon their image fades, the grave for its tenement.

They are laid in hell like sheep: death shall feed upon them. And the just shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their help shall decay in hell from their glory.

Verumtamen Deus redimet animam meam de manu inferi, cum acceperit me.

But my life God will rescue from the power of that lower darkness, a life that finds acceptance with him.

But God will redeem my soul from the hand of hell, when he shall receive me.

Ne timueris cum dives factus fuerit homo, et cum multiplicata fuerit gloria domus ejus:

Do not be disturbed, then, when a man grows rich, and there is no end to his household’s magnificence;

Be not thou afraid, when a man shall be made rich, and when the glory of his house shall be increased.

quoniam, cum interierit, non sumet omnia, neque descendet cum eo gloria ejus.

he cannot take all that with him when he dies, magnificence will not follow him to the grave.

For when he shall die he shall take nothing away; nor shall his glory descend with him.

Quia anima ejus in vita ipsius benedicetur; confitebitur tibi cum benefeceris ei.

While life lasts, he calls himself happy: None but will envy my success;

For in his lifetime his soul will be blessed: and he will praise thee when thou shalt do well to him.

Introibit usque in progenies patrum suorum; et usque in æternum non videbit lumen.

but soon he will be made one with the line of his fathers, never again to see the light.

He shall go in to the generations of his fathers: and he shall never see light.

Homo, cum in honore esset, non intellexit. Comparatus est jumentis insipientibus, et similis factus est illis.

Short is man’s careless enjoyment of earthly goods; match him with the brute beasts, and he is no better than they.

Man when he was in honour did not understand: he hath been compared to senseless beasts, and made like to them.