There was a wicked messenger – from Eli he did come,
With a mind that multiplied the smallest matter.
When questioned who had sent for him he answered with his thumb
For his tongue, it could not speak, but only flatter.
He stayed behind the assembly hall. It was there he made his bed.
Oftentimes he could be seen returning
Until one day he just appeared with a note in his hand, which read:
"The soles of my feet, I swear they're burning."
Oh, the leaves began to falling
1 and the seas began to part
And the people that confronted him were many.
And he was told but these few words, which opened up his heart:
"If ye cannot bring good news, then don't bring any."
1
It seems that Dylan just slips up here, mixing "the leaves began falling..." with "the leaves began to fall...", which is supported by the second part of this line, "...and the seas began to part".