¹⁵ She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me,

¹⁸ Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire^(A) of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard:

²³ She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me,

²⁶ Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard:

¹⁴ “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this?^(A) Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.^(B)

¹² Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant,^(A) to the land you promised on oath^(B) to their ancestors?^(C)

²⁰ the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall?

²¹ Who killed Abimelek^(A) son of Jerub-Besheth^[a]? Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the wall,^(B) so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If he asks you this, then say to him, ‘Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’”