3 They thought that their sins had been secret and unnoticed, shielded from view by a dark curtain of forgetfulness, but now they were horribly afraid, confused, and terrified by ghostly forms.
4 Not even the dark corners where they lay could protect them from fear. They were surrounded by horrible noises; grim ghosts with gloomy faces appeared before their eyes.
5 No fire had power to give them light, and the brilliant stars could do nothing to relieve that deathly darkness.
6 There was only a dreadful fire, lit by no human hand, that shone on them, and in their terror they believed that the real world was even worse than the things they imagined.
7 The illusions produced by their magic tricks were put to shame, and all the wisdom they had boasted of came to nothing.
8 They had claimed they could drive away all the fears and illnesses of sick minds, but now they themselves were sick with silly, groundless fears.
9 Even though nothing dangerous had actually happened, they were terrified by hissing snakes and animals advancing on them.