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.