Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah Again

¹⁴ King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the Lord. The king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me.”

¹⁷ King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him ^(A)secretly in his house and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, ^(B)“You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.”

Jerusalem Will Fall to Nebuchadnezzar

21 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent to him ^(A)Pashhur the son of Malchiah and ^(B)Zephaniah the priest, the son of ^(C)Maaseiah, saying, ^2 (D)“Inquire of the Lord for us, ^(E)for Nebuchadnezzar^[a] king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to ^(F)all his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.”

¹⁶ But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”

²⁰ that you have gone astray at the cost of your lives. ^(A)For you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ^(B)‘Pray for us to the Lord our God, and ^(C)whatever the Lord our God says, declare to us and we will do it.’

² and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let ^(A)our plea for mercy come before you, and ^(B)pray to the Lord your God for us, for all ^(C)this remnant—^(D)because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us— ³ that ^(E)the Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.” ⁴ Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to the Lord your God according to your request, and ^(F)whatever the Lord answers you I will tell you. ^(G)I will keep nothing back from you.” ⁵ Then they said to Jeremiah, ^(H)“May the Lord be a true and ^(I)faithful witness against us ^(J)if we do not act according to all the word ^(K)with which the Lord your God sends you to us.

¹⁷ And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. ^(A)May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” ¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, ^(B)“It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”

¹⁵ But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”

¹⁸ And the covered way for the Sabbath that had been built inside the house and the outer entrance for the king he caused to go around the house of the Lord, because of the king of Assyria.