11 But you can defeat the Israelites, just as you have planned, because they are about to make our God furious by sinning against him. And when that happens, they will certainly die.
12 They are almost out of food and water, so they have decided to slaughter their livestock and eat foods that God has forbidden them to eat.
13 They're going to eat the offerings that have been dedicated to God and have been set aside for the priests who serve him in the Jerusalem temple. These offerings include the first harvests of wheat and ten percent of their wine and olive oil. Only the priests are supposed to touch these things,
14 but even the people of Jerusalem have already broken that law. So my own people in Bethulia have sent messengers to ask the religious leaders in Jerusalem if the same thing could be done here.
15 On the same day that these messengers return with the news, the people in Bethulia will begin eating these foods. That's when you will be able to defeat them.
16 As soon as I realized what was happening, I hurried away from Bethulia. God has sent me here to help you do things that will shock everyone in the world. I am your servant,
17 but I am still a faithful worshiper of the God of Heaven. I will stay here in this camp, and each night I will go into the valley to pray to God, and he will tell me when the Israelites have sinned.