² He sent Eliakim^(A) the palace administrator, Shebna^(B) the secretary, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.^(C)

³ They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress^(A) and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth^(B) and there is no strength to deliver them.

⁴ It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule^(A) the living God,^(B) and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard.^(C) Therefore pray^(D) for the remnant^(E) that still survives.”