¹² Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry;^(A) though they offer burnt offerings^(B) and grain offerings,^(C) I will not accept^(D) them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword,^(E) famine^(F) and plague.”^(G)

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)

⁹ Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath to reassure them and their men. “Do not be afraid to serve^(A) the Babylonians,^[a](B)” he said. “Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.^(C)