“Then the king said to him, ‘What a bad servant you are! I will use your own words to condemn you. You said that I am a hard man. You said that I even take money that I didn’t earn and gather food that I didn’t grow.
The Jewish priests and leaders said, “He will surely kill those evil men. Then he will lease the land to other farmers, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”
Everyone who sees you will be shocked. They will say, ‘Nineveh is destroyed. Who will cry for her?’ I know I cannot find anyone to comfort you, Nineveh.”
“Moab, you made fun of Israel. Israel was caught by a gang of thieves. Every time you spoke about Israel, you shook your head and acted as if you were better than Israel.
So their land will become an empty desert, a place for people from now on to make fun of. All who pass by there will be shocked by what has happened. They will just shake their heads at what they see.
My enemies despise me, and even my neighbors have turned away. When my friends see me in the street, they turn the other way. They are afraid to be around me.
The rulers will be afraid of her suffering and stand far away. They will say, ‘Terrible! How terrible, O great city, O powerful city of Babylon! Your punishment came in one hour!’
Then I heard another voice from heaven say, “Come out of that city, my people, so that you will not share in her sins. Then you will not suffer any of the terrible punishment she will get.