18 Thy days shall pass away, thy ministry shall come to an end, and thy possessions shall vanish and be no more.  Then, in the presence of the almighty King, thou shalt be called to answer for that which thy hands have wrought.  How many the ministers who came before thee into this world, men who exceeded thee in power, excelled thee in station, and surpassed thee in wealth, and yet returned to dust, leaving upon the face of the earth neither name nor trace, and are now plunged in grievous remorse.  Amongst them were those who failed in their duty towards God, followed their own desires, and trod the path of lust and wickedness.  And amongst them were those who observed that which hath been prescribed in the verses of God, judged with fairness by the divine guidance that overshadowed them, and entered beneath the shelter of the mercy of their Lord.

19 I admonish thee, and those who are like thee, to deal not with anyone as ye have dealt with Us.  Beware lest ye follow in the footsteps of the Evil One and walk in the ways of the unjust.  Take from this world only to the measure of your needs, and forgo that which exceedeth them.  Observe equity in all your judgements, and transgress not the bounds of justice, nor be of them that stray from its path.

20 Twenty years have passed, O kings, during which We have, each day, tasted the agony of a fresh tribulation.  No one of them that were before Us hath endured the things We have endured.  Would that ye could perceive it!  They that rose up against Us have put us to death, have shed our blood, have plundered our property, and violated our honour.  Though aware of most of our afflictions, ye, nevertheless, have failed to stay the hand of the aggressor.  For is it not your clear duty to restrain the tyranny of the oppressor, and to deal equitably with your subjects, that your high sense of justice may be fully demonstrated to all mankind?

21 God hath committed into your hands the reins of the government of the people, that ye may rule with justice over them, safeguard the rights of the downtrodden, and punish the wrongdoers.  If ye neglect the duty prescribed unto you by God in His Book, your names shall be numbered with those of the unjust in His sight.  Grievous, indeed, will be your error.  Cleave ye to that which your imaginations have devised, and cast behind your backs the commandments of God, the Most Exalted, the Inaccessible, the All-Compelling, the Almighty?  Cast away the things ye possess, and cling to that which God hath bidden you observe.  Seek ye His grace, for he that seeketh it treadeth His straight Path.

22 Consider the state in which We are, and behold ye the ills and troubles that have tried Us.  Neglect Us not, though it be for a moment, and judge ye between Us and Our enemies with equity.  This will, surely, be a manifest advantage unto you.  Thus do We relate to you Our tale, and recount the things that have befallen Us, that ye might take off Our ills and ease Our burden.  Let him who will, relieve Us from Our trouble; and as to him that willeth not, My Lord is assuredly the best of helpers.