9. Then those who have ignored my ways and held them in contempt will be surprised when they find themselves in continual torment.
10. This will include all those who ignored me while they were alive, even though they accepted the blessings I gave them.
11. It will include all those who scorned my Law during the time they were free to do so and all those who refused to repent while they still had the chance.
12. The torment they will have to suffer after death will force them to recognize the truth.
13. Therefore, Ezra, you should stop asking questions about how the wicked will be punished. Instead, be concerned about how and when the righteous will be saved. The world was created for them and belongs to them.”
14. I said,
15. “I must repeat what I said before. The lost far outnumber those who are saved —
16. it is like a wave compared with a drop of water.”
17. He answered, “The seed to be sown depends on the soil; the colour of the flower depends on the kind of flower; the quality of a product depends on the skill of the worker; and the size of the harvest depends on how hard the farmer has worked.
18. Before I created this world or the people who would live in it, no one opposed me, because no one existed.
19. When I had created the world, I supplied it with an abundance of food and a Law of profound wisdom, but the people I created lived corrupt lives.
20. I looked at my world and saw that it was ruined. I saw that my earth was in danger of being destroyed by the wicked plans of the people who had come into it.
21. When I saw this, I found it very difficult to spare them, but I saved a few for myself, one grape out of a bunch and one tree out of a great forest.
22. So let them perish — all those people who were born only to be lost. But let my chosen people be kept safe — those for whom I worked so hard to bring them to perfection.
23. “And now, Ezra, you must wait seven more days, but do not fast this time.
24. Go to a field of wild flowers where no one has ever lived and eat nothing but the flowers — do not eat any meat or drink any wine.
25. Pray the whole time to God Most High. Then I will come and talk with you again.”
26. I obeyed the angel's command and went to a field called Ardat. I sat there among the flowers and ate the wild plants, and that was enough food for me.