²¹ And as for King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials, I will hand them over to their enemies and to those who seek their lives, to the army of the king of Babylon, which has withdrawn from you.^(A)

²⁴ The captain of the guard took the chief priest Seraiah, the second priest Zephaniah, and the three guardians of the threshold.^{(A) 25} From the city he took an officer who had been in command of the soldiers, seven men of the king’s council who were found in the city; the secretary of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land who were found inside the city. ²⁶ Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.^{(B) 27} And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile out of its land.^(C)

⁶ The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes; also the king of Babylon slaughtered all the nobles of Judah.^(A)

¹⁶ As I live, says the Lord God, surely in the place where the king resides who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant with him he broke—in Babylon he shall die.^(A)

¹⁰ The king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also killed all the officers of Judah at Riblah.^(A)

⁵ Meanwhile, the army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.^(A)

⁶ Then the word of the Lord came to the prophet Jeremiah: ⁷ Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: This is what you shall say to the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me: Pharaoh’s army, which set out to help you, is going to return to its own land, to Egypt.^{(B) 8} And the Chaldeans shall return and fight against this city; they shall take it and burn it with fire.^{(C) 9} Thus says the Lord: Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away.^{(D) 10} Even if you defeated the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you and there remained of them only wounded men in their tents, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.^(E)

Jeremiah Is Imprisoned

¹¹ Now when the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh’s army,

¹⁸ The captain of the guard took the chief priest Seraiah, the second priest Zephaniah, and the three guardians of the threshold;^{(A) 19} from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the soldiers and five men of the king’s council who were found in the city; the secretary who was the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city. ²⁰ Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²¹ The king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile out of its land.^(B)

³ And you yourself shall not escape from his hand but shall surely be captured and handed over to him; you shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face, and you shall go to Babylon. ⁴ Yet hear the word of the Lord, O King Zedekiah of Judah! Thus says the Lord concerning you: You shall not die by the sword; ⁵ you shall die in peace. And as spices were burned^[a] for your ancestors, the earlier kings who preceded you, so they shall burn spices^[b] for you and lament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!” For I have spoken the word, says the Lord.^(A)