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.
10 And so they died, shaking with fear, afraid even to open their eyes, yet unable to keep them shut.
11 Wickedness is cowardly in itself and stands self-condemned. Someone with a guilty conscience will always imagine things to be worse than they really are.