But I was busy doing other things, so the man ran away.” The king of Israel answered, “You have already said what the punishment is. You must do what the man said.”
The prophet said to the king, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You freed the man I said should die, so your life will be taken instead of his. The lives of your people will also be taken instead of the lives of his people.’ ”
My people, put on rough cloth and roll in the ashes to show how sad you are. Cry loudly for those who are dead, as if your only son were dead, because the destroyer will soon come against us.