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. 18 But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans.g They will burn it, and you yourself will not escape from them.’ ”

19 But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am worried about the Judeans who have defected to the Chaldeans. They may hand me over to the Judeans to abuse me.”h

20 “They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey the Lord in what I am telling you, so it may go well for you and you can live. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is the verdictD that the Lord has shown me: 22 ‘All the womenE who remain in the palace of Judah’s king will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon and will say to you,F

“Your trusted friendsG misledH you

and overcame you.

Your feet sank into the mire,

and they deserted you.”

23 All your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans.i You yourself will not escape from them, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon and this city will burn.’ ”

24 Then Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, “Don’t let anyone know about this conversationI or you will die. 25 The officials may hear that I have spoken with youj and come and demand of you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king; don’t hide anything from us and we won’t kill you. Also, what did the king say to you?’ 26 If they do, tell them, ‘I was bringing before the king my petition that he not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.’ ”k 27 All the officials did come to Jeremiah, and they questioned him. He reported the exact words to them the king had commanded, and they quit speaking with him because the conversationJ had not been overheard. 28 Jeremiah remained in the guard’s courtyard until the day Jerusalem was captured, and he was there when it happened.k