ZEDEKIAH’S FINAL MEETING WITH JEREMIAH

14 King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah and received him at the third entrance of the Lord’s temple. The king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to ask you something; don’t hide anything from me.”

15 Jeremiah replied to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, you will kill me, won’t you? Besides, if I give you advice, you won’t listen to me anyway.”

16 King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in private,d “As the Lord lives, who has given us this life,e I will not kill you or hand you over to these men who intend to take your life.”

17 Jeremiah therefore said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If indeed you surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon,f then you will live, this city will not be burned, and you and your household will survive.