But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there in Samaria, and he went out to meet the returning army. He told them, “It was because the Lord, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah that he allowed you to defeat them. But you have killed them with such fury that it has upset heaven.
I prayed, “My God, I am so ashamed and embarrassed to come and pray to you, my God, because we are in over our heads in sin, and our guilt has risen to the heavens.
Give a roar from the throat! Don't hold back! Shout out like a trumpet! Announce to my people how rebellious they are; denounce to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
If I tell myself, “I won't talk about him anymore, I won't even mention his name,” then his message is like a fire trapped within me, burning me from the inside out. I'm getting tired of holding it in. I just can't win.
Shouldn't I be concerned about the great city of Nineveh where one hundred and twenty thousand people live who don't know their right hand from their left, not to mention all the animals?”
But as for me, I am filled with power, with the spirit of the Lord. I am filled with justice and strength to make clear to the descendants of Jacob their rebellion, and to the people of Israel their sin.
There is no way to heal your injuries, you are too badly wounded. Everyone who hears this news will applaud what has happened to you, for was there anyone who escaped your continuous cruelty?
The people of Nineveh will rise in the judgment together with this generation and they will condemn it because they repented in response to Jonah's message—and as you see, there's someone greater than Jonah here!
Look, the wages of your farm workers that you cheated are crying out against you—the cries of the farm workers have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.