Jeremiah 38:14–23

14 Then King Zedekiah asent and 1had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance that is in the house of the Lord; and the king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to bask you something; do not hide anything from me.”

15 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “aIf I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Besides, if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”

16 But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in asecret saying, “As the Lord lives, who made this 1blife for us, surely I will not put you to death nor will I give you over to the hand of cthese men who are seeking your 1life.”

Interview with Zedekiah

17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord aGod of hosts, the bGod of Israel, ‘If you will indeed cgo out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then 1you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will 2survive.

18 ‘But if you will anot go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city bwill be given over to the hand of the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and cyou yourself will not escape from their hand.’ ”

19 Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I adread the Jews who have 1bgone over to the Chaldeans, for they may give me over into their hand and they will cabuse me.”

20 But Jeremiah said, “They will not give you over. Please 1aobey the Lord in what I am saying to you, that it may go bwell with you and 2cyou may live.

21 “But if you keep refusing to go out, this is the word which the Lord has shown me:

22 ‘Then behold, all of the awomen who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the 1officers of the king of Babylon; and those women will say,

“2Your close friends

Have misled and overpowered you;

While your feet were sunk in the mire,

They turned back.”

23 ‘They will also bring out all your wives and your asons to the Chaldeans, and byou yourself will not escape from their hand, but will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and bthis city will be burned with fire.’ ”