14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of aTikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke with her.
15 Then she said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me,
16 “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, aI will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants—all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read—
17abecause they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched.’ ” ’
18 But as for athe king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard—
19 because your aheart was tender, and you bhumbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become ca desolation and da curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the Lord.
At this point, six years into Josiah's reformation, God informs the young king that the people were only giving lip-service to his efforts. Their hearts had not changed; they had not truly repented and turned to God. He is, however, a merciful God, slow to anger, quick to forgive; the terrible price will not be paid just yet.
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