¹² He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam^(A) son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant:^{(B) 13} “Go and inquire^(C) of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger^(D) that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”

¹⁴ Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophet^(E) Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.

¹⁵ She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ¹⁶ ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster^(F) on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book^(G) the king of Judah has read. ¹⁷ Because they have forsaken^(H) me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made,^[a] my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’ ¹⁸ Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire^(I) of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: ¹⁹ Because your heart was responsive and you humbled^(J) yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people—that they would become a curse^[b](K) and be laid waste^(L)—and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. ²⁰ Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace.^(M) Your eyes^(N) will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’”

So they took her answer back to the king.

²⁰ He gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan^(A), Abdon son of Micah,^[a] Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant: ²¹ “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that is poured out^(B) on us because those who have gone before us have not kept the word of the Lord; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book.”

²² Hilkiah and those the king had sent with him^[b] went to speak to the prophet^(C) Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath,^[c] the son of Hasrah,^[d] keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.

²³ She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ²⁴ ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster^(D) on this place and its people^(E)—all the curses^(F) written in the book that has been read in the presence of the king of Judah. ²⁵ Because they have forsaken me^(G) and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all that their hands have made,^[e] my anger will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched.’ 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: ²⁷ Because your heart was responsive^(H) and you humbled^(I) yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord. ²⁸ Now I will gather you to your ancestors,^(J) and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place and on those who live here.’”^(K)

So they took her answer back to the king.