18 Whether it was the whispering of the wind, or the sound of birds singing in the thick branches of trees, or the rhythm of rushing water,
19 or the crashing down of rocks from a high cliff, or the unseen scurrying of little animals, or the howling of the most frightening of beasts, or an echo from the valleys between the hills; whatever it was, it frightened them so much that they were completely paralyzed.
20 So while bright sunlight lit up the rest of the world, and people and things went about their ordered, active lives,
21 an oppressive night lay all around them, and around them alone. It was a sign of the darkness that was going to receive them, but they were a heavier burden to themselves than even the darkness itself.