1
On that day someone righteous, full of confidence, will stand before those who oppressed him and made light of his labors.
2
They will be amazed to see him safe and will tremble with terrible fear.
3
Then they will regret what they did, and groaning in anguish they will say to each other:
4
"This is the one we made fun of. We thought he was a joke. What fools we were! We thought he was crazy to live the way he did, and when he died, we didn't honor him.
5
And now here he is, one of God's own children, with a place of his own among God's people.
6
We were the ones who wandered off the right road. We never lived in the light of righteousness; we never caught the first glimmer of its light.
7
All our lives we wandered across unmarked deserts, instead of following the road which the Lord wanted us to travel. And this lawlessness led us to ruin.
8
We were so proud of ourselves - we bragged about how rich we were - and now, what good has it done us?
9
All those things are gone now; they have disappeared like a shadow, like something you hear and then forget.