Zedekiah Questions Jeremiah Again

¹⁴ Then King Zedekiah sent^(A) for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to the third entrance to the temple of the Lord. “I am going to ask you something,” the king said to Jeremiah. “Do not hide^(B) anything from me.”

²⁰ that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the Lord your God and said, ‘Pray to the Lord our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’^(A)

² Jeremiah the prophet and said to him, “Please hear our petition and pray^(A) to the Lord your God for this entire remnant.^(B) For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few^(C) are left. ³ Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.”^(D)

⁴ “I have heard you,” replied Jeremiah the prophet. “I will certainly pray^(E) to the Lord your God as you have requested; I will tell^(F) you everything the Lord says and will keep nothing back from you.”^(G)

⁵ Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true^(H) and faithful^(I) witness^(J) against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the Lord your God sends you to tell us.

¹⁷ Then King Zedekiah sent^(A) for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked^(B) him privately,^(C) “Is there any word from the Lord?”

“Yes,” Jeremiah replied, “you will be delivered^(D) into the hands of the king of Babylon.”

God Rejects Zedekiah’s Request

21 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah^(A) sent to him Pashhur^(B) son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah^(C) son of Maaseiah. They said: ² “Inquire^(D) now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar^[a](E) king of Babylon^(F) is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders^(G) for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.”

¹⁶ The king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”

¹⁷ “What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide^(A) it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely,^(B) if you hide from me anything he told you.” ¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.”^(C)

¹⁵ The king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”

¹⁸ He took away the Sabbath canopy^[a] that had been built at the temple and removed the royal entryway outside the temple of the Lord, in deference to the king of Assyria.^(A)