¹² I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, “Bow your neck under the yoke^(A) of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live.^(B)

¹⁷ Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender^(A) to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live.^(B)

The False Prophet Hananiah

28 In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, early in the reign of Zedekiah^(A) king of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon,^(B) said to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people:

¹¹ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ¹² “Say to this rebellious people, ‘Do you not know what these things mean?^(A)’ Say to them: ‘The king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and carried off her king and her nobles,^(B) bringing them back with him to Babylon.^{(C) 13} Then he took a member of the royal family and made a treaty^(D) with him, putting him under oath.^(E) He also carried away the leading men^(F) of the land, ¹⁴ so that the kingdom would be brought low,^(G) unable to rise again, surviving only by keeping his treaty. ¹⁵ But the king rebelled^(H) against him by sending his envoys to Egypt^(I) to get horses and a large army.^(J) Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Will he break the treaty and yet escape?^(K)

¹⁶ “‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, he shall die^(L) in Babylon, in the land of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised and whose treaty he broke.^{(M) 17} Pharaoh^(N) with his mighty army and great horde will be of no help to him in war, when ramps^(O) are built and siege works erected to destroy many lives.^{(P) 18} He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Because he had given his hand in pledge^(Q) and yet did all these things, he shall not escape.

¹⁹ “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will repay him for despising my oath and breaking my covenant.^{(R) 20} I will spread my net^(S) for him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment^(T) on him there because he was unfaithful^(U) to me. ²¹ All his choice troops will fall by the sword,^(V) and the survivors^(W) will be scattered to the winds.^(X) Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken.^(Y)

⁸ “‘“If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish^(A) that nation with the sword,^(B) famine^(C) and plague,^(D) declares the Lord, until I destroy it by his hand.

² This is what the Lord said to me: “Make a yoke^(A) out of straps and crossbars and put it on your neck. ³ Then send^(B) word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon,^(C) Tyre and Sidon^(D) through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah.

Zedekiah King of Judah^(A)

¹¹ Zedekiah^(B) was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. ¹² He did evil in the eyes of the Lord^(C) his God and did not humble^(D) himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the Lord. ¹³ He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath^(E) in God’s name. He became stiff-necked^(F) and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel.