18 At one point the flame did die down, so that it might not destroy the creatures that had been sent but only punish them. The ungodly noticed and realized it was God’s judgment that was hunting them down.
19 Then suddenly the fire flared up again, right in the midst of water, with an even greater intensity than normal fire. It destroyed the crops in a land dominated by wrongdoing.
20 In contrast, you fed your people with the food from angels. Again and again, you provided your people with a bread that had been prepared in heaven. It was a bread that was able to satisfy anyone’s longing and please anyone’s taste.
21 You even showed your children your sweet side: when they ate, the bread was changed into whatever they wanted it to become!
22 And though it was like snow and snowflakes, it endured the fire, which didn’t melt it. In this way, they knew that their enemies’ crops had been destroyed by an unusual fire, one that blazed even in the midst of the hail and let off sparks even in the midst of the rain.
23 But in order that those who do the right thing might be fed, fire itself forgot how powerful it was.
24 Creation, which serves you, the one who made it, tenses itself in preparation for the judgment of those who have done wrong and then relaxes itself again in order to benefit those who have put their trust in you.