14. What hope do wicked people have? Only the hope of straw blown about in the wind, the hope of ocean foam that disappears in the storm, the hope of smoke in the breeze. Their hope lasts no longer than our memory of a guest who stays one day and leaves the next.
15. But the righteous live on for ever. The Lord will reward them; the Most High will protect them.
16. He will give them royal splendour and a magnificent crown. He will shield them with his powerful arm.
17. He will go out into battle determined to defeat his enemies, and use the creation itself as a weapon.
18. Righteousness will be his armour, genuine justice will be his helmet,
19. holiness will be his invincible shield.
20. He will sharpen his stern anger into a sword, and the forces of nature will join him in battle against those who are foolish enough to oppose him.
21. Bolts of lightning will strike right on target, as if the Lord had made a bow out of the clouds and was shooting arrows.