Interview with Zedekiah

¹⁷ Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord ^(A)God of hosts, the ^(B)God of Israel, ‘If you will indeed ^(C)go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then ^[a]you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will ^[b]survive. ¹⁸ But if you will ^(D)not go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city ^(E)will be given over to the hand of the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and ^(F)you yourself will not escape from their hand.’” ¹⁹ Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I ^(G)dread the Jews who have ^[c](H)gone over to the Chaldeans, for they may give me over into their hand and they will ^(I)abuse me.”

¹⁵ then ^[a]in that case listen to the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “If you really set your ^[b]mind to enter ^(A)Egypt and go in to reside there, ¹⁶ then the ^(B)sword, which you are afraid of, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, about which you are anxious, will follow closely after you there in Egypt, and you will die there.

¹⁹ Therefore, thus says the Lord God, “As I live, surely My oath which he despised and My covenant which he broke, I will ^[a]inflict on his head. ²⁰ I will spread My ^(A)net over him, and he will be ^(B)caught in My snare. Then I will bring him to Babylon and ^(C)enter into judgment with him there regarding the unfaithful act which he has committed against Me. ²¹ All the ^[b](D)choice men in all his troops will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to every wind; and you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.”