And he wrote a second letter to them, saying, If you are for me, and if you obey my voice, take the heads of the men, your master’s sons, and come to me at Yizreʽ
“Was it I who conceived all these people? Was it I who brought them forth, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as the foster father carries a nursing child,’ to the land which You swore to their fathers?
“So our elders and all the inhabitants of our land spoke to us, saying, ‘Take food with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, “We are your servants, and now, make a covenant with us.” ’