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So the messengers took the king’s letters all through Israel and Judah. This is what the letters said:

“Children of Israel, turn back to the Lord, the God who Abraham, Isaac, and Israel obeyed. Then God will come back to you who are still alive and have escaped from the kings of Assyria. Don’t be like your fathers or your brothers. The Lord was their God, but they turned against him. So he made people hate them and speak evil about them. You can see with your own eyes that this is true. Don’t be stubborn as your ancestors were. But obey the Lord with a willing heart. Come to the Temple that he has made to be holy forever. Serve the Lord your God. Then his fearful anger will turn away from you.

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At the king’s command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and from his officials, which read:

“People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. Do not be like your parents(A) and your fellow Israelites, who were unfaithful(B) to the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror,(C) as you see. Do not be stiff-necked,(D) as your ancestors were; submit to the Lord. Come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God, so that his fierce anger(E) will turn away from you.

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