4. In time, no one will remember anything we ever did, and even our names will be forgotten. Our lives will pass away like traces of clouds and vanish like mist in the heat of the sun.
5. Our time on earth is like a passing shadow. There is no escape from the day of our death; it is fixed, and no one can postpone it.”
6. The wicked say, “Come on, then, let's enjoy the good things of life, and live in this world just as we did when we were young and free of care!
7. Let's drink the most expensive wines and use the finest perfumes. Let's not miss a single flower in the springtime!
8. Before the roses wither, let's pick them and wear them in our hair!
9. Let's all join in and leave signs everywhere of our carefree revelry! Life owes us that much!
10. “We'll oppress the poor, even if they are righteous. We'll show no respect for widows or old people.
11. We'll call ourselves right if we are strong enough to get what we want. No one ever got anywhere by being weak!
12. Righteous people are nothing but a nuisance, so let's look for chances to get rid of them. They are against what we do; they accuse us of breaking the Law of Moses and violating the traditions of our ancestors.
13. They claim to know God, and they call themselves the Lord's children.
14. We can't stand the sight of people like that; what they are contradicts our whole way of thinking.
15. They are not like other people; they have strange ways.
16. They think that our moral standards are so corrupt that everything we do should be avoided. They boast of having God for their Father, and believe that only the righteous will die happy.
17. But we'll see if that's true! Let's see what will happen when it's time for them to die!
18. If the righteous really are God's children, God will save them from their enemies.