Now I am sending you Huram Abi, ¹  a skilled and capable man,

Now let my lord send to his servants the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine he has promised;

Now, O Lord God of Israel, may the promise you made to your servant David be realized. ¹ 

Now listen to me! Send back those you have seized from your brothers, for the Lord is very angry at you!” ¹ 

Now ascend, O Lord God, to your resting place, you and the ark of your strength! May your priests, O Lord God, experience your deliverance! ¹  May your loyal followers rejoice in the prosperity you give! ² 

Now I have chosen and consecrated this temple by making it my permanent home; ¹  I will be constantly present there. ² 

“Your father made us work too hard! ¹  Now if you lighten the demands he made and don’t make us work as hard, we will serve you.” ² 

My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. ¹  My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.’” ² 

So now, look, the Lord has placed a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours; but the Lord has decreed disaster for you.”

Respect the Lord and make careful decisions, for the Lord our God disapproves of injustice, partiality, and bribery.” ¹ 

And now you are planning ¹  to enslave ²  the people ³  of Judah and Jerusalem. Yet are you not also guilty before the Lord your God?

“Now send me a man who is skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, as well as purple, crimson, and violet colored fabrics, and who knows how to engrave. He will work with my skilled craftsmen here in Jerusalem ¹  and Judah, whom my father David provided.

Now you are declaring that you will resist the Lord’s rule through the Davidic dynasty. ¹  You have a huge army, ²  and bring with you the gold calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.

Now the Ammonites, Moabites, and men from Mount Seir are coming! ¹  When Israel came from the land of Egypt, you did not allow them to invade these lands. ²  They bypassed them and did not destroy them.

Now, O Lord God of Israel, keep the promise you made to your servant, my father David, when you said, ‘You will never fail to have a successor ruling before me on the throne of Israel, ¹  provided that your descendants watch their step and obey my law as you have done.’ ² 

Now don’t let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this. Don’t believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from my power or the power of my predecessors. So how ¹  can your gods rescue ²  you from my power?’”