1
Then the righteous will stand with great confidence in the presence of those who have oppressed them and those who make light of their labors.
2
When the unrighteous see them, they will be shaken with dreadful fear, and they will be amazed at the unexpected salvation of the righteous.
3
They will speak to one another in repentance, and in anguish of spirit they will groan, and say,
4
"These are persons whom we once held in derision and made a byword of reproach—fools that we were! We thought that their lives were madness and that their end was without honor.
5
Why have they been numbered among the children of God? And why is their lot among the saints?
6
So it was we who strayed from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness did not shine on us, and the sun did not rise upon us.
7
We took our fill of the paths of lawlessness and destruction, and we journeyed through trackless deserts, but the way of the Lord we have not known.
8
What has our arrogance profited us? And what good has our boasted wealth brought us?
9
"All those things have vanished like a shadow, and like a rumor that passes by;
10
like a ship that sails through the billowy water, and when it has passed no trace can be found, no track of its keel in the waves;