So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, "As the Lord liveth, that made us, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life."

Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, "Thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: 'If thou wilt go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: but if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.'"

And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Jews that deserted to the Chaldeans, lest the Chaldeans deliver me into their hand, and they mock me."

But Jeremiah said, "They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, in that which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well with thee, and thy soul shall live. But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the Lord hath shewed me: Behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire."

Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, "Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die."

So Jeremiah abode in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.

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V
CONFUSION IN THE LAND

(Jerusalem is taken and Jeremiah is kindly treated by the victors. The people who remain in the land, now a royal colony, take courage, but the assassination of the governor throws everything into confusion.)

And it came to pass when Jerusalem was taken, in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and besieged it; in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the walls of the city. Then all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate.