After some days, I saw him in the same plain where I had also seen the shepherds, and he said to me: 'What are you looking for?' 'I am here, Lord,' said I, 'so that you may explain these things to me.'
2'It is necessary for you to be afflicted,' said he, 'not I.' 'Why, Lord,' said I, 'must I be afflicted? Did I not walk in your commandments?'
3'It is necessary for you,' said he, 'to be afflicted, so that they (your house) may also repent. For if you are not afflicted, they cannot repent.'
4'But I tell you,' said he, 'that if you are afflicted, the Lord will have compassion on you and on your house, and will give you strength.'
5'And the Lord will send upon you tribulations, until they repent. But now, have patience, and the Lord will help you.'
6'And I will be with you, and will not leave you, until you have completed your repentance and that of your house. But now, keep my commandments, and you will be blessed.'