14 And Zedekiah the king sent and made someone bring Jeremiah the prophet to him, to the third entrance that was at the ⌊temple⌋a of Yahweh. And the king said to Jeremiah, “I am asking you ⌊something⌋,b you must not hide ⌊anything⌋c from me.” 15 And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not surely kill me? ⌊Besides⌋,d if I advise you, you will not listen to me. 16 So Zedekiah the king swore to Jeremiah in secret, ⌊saying⌋,e “⌊As Yahweh lives⌋,f who has made for us this life, I will not kill you and I will not give you into the hand of these men who are seeking your life.”

17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘If only you will go surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then ⌊you⌋g will live, and this city will not be burned with fire, and you will live, you and your house. 18 But if you do not go surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire, and you will not escape from their hand.’ ”

19 And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest they give me into their hand and they abuse me.” 20 And Jeremiah said, “They will not give you over. Please obey the voice of Yahweh with regard to what I am saying to you, and it will go well with you, and ⌊you⌋h will live. 21 But if you are refusing to surrender, this is the thing that Yahweh has shown me. 22 Now look, all the women who remain in the house of the king of Judah are being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon. And look, they are saying,

‘⌊Your trusted friends⌋i have misled you,

and they have prevailed against you.

Your feet are stuck in the mud,

so they turned backward.’

23 And all your wives and your children will be led out to the Chaldeans, and you will not escape from their hand, but by the hand of the king of Babylon you will be seized, and this city will burn with fire.”

24 And Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “No man must know about these words so that you will not die. 25 And if the officials hear that I have spoken with you, and they come to you and say to you, ‘Please tell us what you said to the king. You must not conceal it from us so that we will not kill you. And what did the king say to you?’ 26 Then you shall say to them, ‘I was presenting my plea ⌊before⌋j the king, to not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan to die there.’ ” 27 And all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, and he informed them like all these words that the king commanded. So they fell silent, for the ⌊conversation⌋k was not heard. 28 And Jeremiah stayed in the courtyard of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was captured. And it happened that Jerusalem was captured.l

The Fall of Jerusalem

39 In the ninth year of Zedekiah, the king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. 2 In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the city was taken by assault. 3 And all the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim the chief officer, Nergal-sharezer the high official, with all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon. 4 ⌊And then⌋a ⌊when⌋b Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all ⌊the soldiers⌋c with him, they fled and went out at night from the city by the way of the garden of the king through the gate between the walls. And they went out toward the Jordan Valley. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And they took him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath. And he pronounced ⌊sentence⌋d on him. 6 And the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes. The king of Babylon also slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. 7 Then he blinded the eyes of Zedekiah and tied him up with bronze fetters to bring him to Babylon. 8 And the Chaldeans burned the palacee of the king and the housesf of the people with fire and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.

9 Then the rest of the people who were left in the city, and those deserting who had deserted to him, and the rest of the people who remained, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard,g deported to Babylon. 10 And some of the poor people, ⌊who had nothing⌋,h Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard,i left in the land of Judah. And he gave them vineyards and fields on that day.

11 And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon commanded concerning Jeremiah ⌊through⌋j Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard,k ⌊saying⌋,l 12 “Take him and set your eyes on him. And you must not do something bad to him, ⌊but only⌋m that which he speaks to you, so do with him.” 13 So Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard,n sent word, ⌊along with⌋o Nebushazban the chief officer, and Nergal-sharezer the high official, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon. 14 And they sent and took Jeremiah from the courtyard of the guard and gave him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him to the house, so he stayed in the midst of the people.

Ebed-melech is Rewarded for His Faith

15 And the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah at his confinement in the courtyard of the guard, ⌊saying⌋,p 16 “Go and say to Ebed-melech the Cushite, ⌊saying⌋,q ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: “Look, I am about to bring my words to pass against this city for evil and not for good. And they will be ⌊before you⌋r on that day. 17 But I will rescue you on that day,” ⌊declares⌋s Yahweh, “and you will not be given into the hand of the men ⌊of whom you are frightened⌋.t 18 For surely I will save you, and you will not fall by the sword. But your life will be for you as booty because you have trusted in me,” ⌊declares⌋u Yahweh.’ ”