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"All those things have vanished like a shadow, and like a rumor that passes by;
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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;
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or as, when a bird flies through the air, no evidence of its passage is found; the light air, lashed by the beat of its pinions and pierced by the force of its rushing flight, is traversed by the movement of its wings, and afterward no sign of its coming is found there;
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or as, when an arrow is shot at a target, the air, thus divided, comes together at once, so that no one knows its pathway.
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So we also, as soon as we were born, ceased to be, and we had no sign of virtue to show, but were consumed in our wickedness."
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Because the hope of the ungodly is like thistledown carried by the wind, and like a light frost driven away by a storm; it is dispersed like smoke before the wind, and it passes like the remembrance of a guest who stays but a day.
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But the righteous live forever, and their reward is with the Lord; the Most High takes care of them.
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Therefore they will receive a glorious crown and a beautiful diadem from the hand of the Lord, because with his right hand he will cover them, and with his arm he will shield them.
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The Lord will take his zeal as his whole armor, and will arm all creation to repel his enemies;
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he will put on righteousness as a breastplate, and wear impartial justice as a helmet;
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he will take holiness as an invincible shield,