King Hezekiah of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria, who was at Lachish, “I have violated our treaty. ¹  If you leave, I will do whatever you demand.” ²  So the king of Assyria demanded that King Hezekiah of Judah pay three hundred talents ³  of silver and thirty talents of gold.

He replied, “No, let the Lord help you. How can I help you? The threshing floor and winepress are empty.” ¹ 

Elisha ¹  told Gehazi, “Tuck your robes into your belt, take my staff, ²  and go! Don’t stop to exchange greetings with anyone! ³  Place my staff on the child’s face.”

Now make a deal ¹  with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them.

I will not make Israel again leave the land I gave to their ancestors, ¹  provided that they carefully obey all I commanded them, the whole law my servant Moses ordered them to obey.”

Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Lord’s word which you have announced is appropriate.” ¹  Then he added, ²  “At least there will be peace and stability during my lifetime.” ³ 

Perhaps you will tell me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem.’

They were absolutely terrified ¹  and said, “Look, two kings could not stop him! ²  How can we?” ³ 

So the king told Hazael, “Take a gift ¹  and go visit the prophet. Request from him an oracle from the Lord. Ask him, ²  ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”

He also removed the Sabbath awning ¹  that had been built ²  in the temple and the king’s outer entranceway, on account of the king of Assyria. ³ 

Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here that we might seek the Lord’s direction?” ¹  One of the servants of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shapat is here; he used to be Elijah’s servant.” ² 

So Hazael went to visit Elisha. ¹  He took along a gift, ²  as well as ³  forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus. When he arrived, he stood before him and said, “Your son, ⁴  King Ben Hadad of Syria, has sent me to you with this question, ⁵  ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”

Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and saw Jehu’s troops approaching. ¹  He said, “I see troops!” ²  Jehoram ordered, ³  “Send a rider out to meet them and have him ask, ‘Is everything all right?’” ⁴ 

But the chief adviser said to them, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. ¹  His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you.” ²