Jeremiah 38:14-28 - Zedekiah's Final Meeting With Jeremiah

¹⁴ Then King Zedekiah sent and fetched Jeremiah the prophet unto him, in the third entrance, which is in the house of Yahweh, - and the king said unto Jeremiah - I am going to ask thee a thing, do not hide anything from me.

¹⁵ Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, When I tell thee, wilt thou not, surely put me to death? And when I counsel thee, thou wilt not hearken unto me.

¹⁶ So King Zedekiah aware unto Jeremiah secretly saying, - By the life of Yahweh who made for us, this soul, I will in no wise put thee to death, Neither will I deliver thee into the hand of these men who are seeking thy life.

¹⁷ Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah - Thus, saith Yahweh God of hosts, God of Israel - If thou wilt, indeed go forth, unto the princes of the king of Babylon, then shall thine own soul live, and, this city, shall not be burned with fire, - but thou shalt live, thou and thy house. ¹⁸ But, if thou wilt not go forth unto the princes of the king of Babylon, then shall this city be delivered into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and, thou, shalt not escape out of their hand.

¹⁹ Then said King Zedekiah unto Jeremiah: I am afraid of the Jews who have fallen away unto the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me, into their hand, and they maltreat me.

²⁰ But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver! - Hearken I pray thee unto the voice of Yahweh in what I am speaking unto thee, that it may be well with thee and thy soul live. ²¹ But if thou art refusing to go forth, this, is the thing which Yahweh hath shewed me: - ²² behold, then, all the women that are left in the house of the king of Judah, brought forth unto the princes of the king of Babylon, - and, these very women, saying, The men thou wast wont to salute, have goaded thee on and prevailed upon thee, - Thy foot having sunk in the mire, they have turned away back.

²³ Yea thou shalt behold all thy wives and thy children brought forth unto the Chaldeans, and thou, shalt not escape out of their hand, - but by the hand of the king of Babylon, shalt thou be taken, and, this city, shall be burned with fire.

²⁴ Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah - Do not let, any man, know of these words, and thou shalt not die. ²⁵ But, when the princes hear that I have spoken with thee and they come in unto thee and say unto thee - Do tell us we pray thee what thou didst speak unto the king, do not hide it from us so will we not put thee to death, - and what spake the king unto, thee? ²⁶ Then shalt thou say unto them, - I was causing my supplication to fall prostrate before the king, - that he would not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan, to die there. ²⁷ Then came in all the princes unto Jeremiah and asked him, and he told them according to all these words which the king, had commanded, - so they turned in silence from him, for the matter, had not been reported. ²⁸ So Jeremiah remained in the guard-court, until the day when Jerusalem, was captured; thus it fell out when Jerusalem, was captured.