1But all who have pleased God

will stand with confidence

in the presence of those

who abused them and made fun

of the good they did.

2When those evil ones see

how God has saved his people,

they will tremble with fear

and be completely amazed.

3They will groan and say

to each other,

"We should have turned from sin!

4We were fools to sneer

at those people,

but we thought they were fools

who had died in disgrace.

5Why are they God's children?

Why are they his holy people?

6"So we were the ones

who turned from truth

and rejected the light

from those good people.

7We refused to follow the Lord!

Instead we were lawless

and followed a desert road

that led us to destruction.

8All of our pride and wealth

has proved to be useless.

9"Everything we treasured

has vanished like a shadow

or a hastily spoken word,

* 10or like the wake of a ship

on ocean waves,

11or like the flight of a bird

through the air,

12or like the unknown path

of an arrow on its way

to the target.

13As soon as we were born,

we began to disappear

because we followed only evil

and left behind no traces

of anything good."

14Sinners have no more hope

than dust in the wind,

or frost in the heat of the sun,

or smoke in a breeze.

They are remembered no longer

than an overnight guest.

The Lord's People Will Be Rewarded

15The Lord Most High

takes care of his people;

he will reward them,

and they will live forever.

16The Lord will protect them

with his powerful right arm,

and he will bless them

with a glorious crown.

17 Eagerness will be like armor

for the Lord, and he will equip

all creation to fight

and punish his enemies.

18The Lord will protect his chest

with deeds of fairness,

and for a helmet he will wear

equal justice for all.

19Holiness will be his strong shield,

20and fierce anger will be

his sharp sword.

All creation will join with him

in fighting his crazy enemies.

21Arrows of lightning will leap

from behind the clouds

and never miss their target.

22Fearsome hailstones will strike

the Lord's enemies,

while ocean waves and rivers

roll over them like a flood.

23Then a mighty windstorm

will sweep them away--

because lawlessness and evil

bring ruin to the whole earth

and to every kingdom.