² “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Go and ^(A)speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, ^(B)I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.

¹⁰ For I have ^(A)set My face against this city for adversity and not for good,” says the Lord. ^(B)“It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall ^(C)burn it with fire.” ’

^22 (A)Behold, I will command,’ says the Lord, ‘and cause them to return to this city. They will fight against it ^(B)and take it and burn it with fire; and ^(C)I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.’ ”

^8 (A)And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city, and take it and burn it with fire.” ’ ⁹ Thus says the Lord: ‘Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely depart from us,” for they will not depart. ^10 (B)For though you had defeated the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained only wounded men among them, they would rise up, every man in his tent, and burn the city with fire.’ ”

³ For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why do you ^(A)prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(B)“Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

Prophecies Against the Kings of Judah

22 Thus says the Lord: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word, ² and say, ^(A)‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates!

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah^(A)

^11 (B)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹² He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and ^(C)did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord.

^8 (A)And the Chaldeans burned the king’s house and the houses of the people with ^(B)fire, and broke down the ^(C)walls of Jerusalem.

²³ ‘So they shall surrender all your wives and ^(A)children to the Chaldeans. ^(B)You shall not escape from their hand, but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. And you shall cause this city to be burned with fire.’ ”

Zedekiah’s Vain Hope^(A)

37 Now King ^(B)Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. ^2 (C)But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land gave heed to the words of the Lord which He spoke by the prophet Jeremiah.