Zedekiah

17The king of Babylon made Mattaniah the new king. Mattaniah was Jehoiachin's uncle. The king of Babylon changed his name to Zedekiah.

And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father’s brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

NoteGiving a man a new name showed you were his boss. Zedekiah's first name was Mattaniah.

18Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king. He was king in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah.

Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

NoteLibnah was a small town in Judah. This Jeremiah is not the prophet Jeremiah. He is a different man with the same name.

19He did what the LORD says is wrong. He did the same things Jehoiakim had done.

And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

20All this happened in Jerusalem and Judah because the LORD was angry. In the end he sent them away from himself. And Zedekiah also turned against the king of Babylon.

For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

NoteTurning against Babylon meant refusing to obey or pay. That was a very dangerous thing for a small land to do.

1It was the ninth year that Zedekiah was king. On day ten of month ten, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem. He brought his whole army. They camped around the city and built dirt walls to attack it.

And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about.

NoteAn army camping all around a city is called a siege. Nobody could go in or bring food out. The dirt walls let soldiers climb up and shoot over the wall.

2The army stayed around the city and kept it shut in. This lasted until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.

NoteThe city was shut in like this for about a year and a half.

3On day nine of month four, the food ran out. The people in the city had nothing left to eat.

And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.

NoteNo farmer could bring food in while soldiers surrounded the city. That is why the food ran out.

4Then the enemy broke a hole in the city wall. Babylon's soldiers were all around the city. At night all the fighting men ran away. They went out the gate between the two walls, near the king's garden. They headed toward the flat land in the valley.

And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.

NoteThe flat land in the valley is the low ground near the Jordan River. It lies east of Jerusalem, on the way out of the hills.

5But Babylon's army chased the king. They caught him on the flat land near Jericho. His own soldiers had scattered and left him alone.

And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him.

NoteJericho was an old town down in that valley, near the Jordan River.

6They took the king to the king of Babylon at a town called Riblah. There they decided how he would be punished.

So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.

NoteRiblah was a town far to the north. The king of Babylon stayed there with his army camp.

7They killed Zedekiah's sons while he watched. Then they blinded his eyes. They tied him with bronze chains and took him to Babylon.

And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.

NoteBronze is a hard metal made from copper mixed with tin. Blinding a beaten king was a punishment kings used long ago. It meant he could never lead soldiers again.

11Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for eleven years.

Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.

12He did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD his God. He would not listen humbly to Jeremiah, a prophet who spoke the words God gave him.

And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the LORD.

13Zedekiah also turned against King Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar had made him promise in God's name. But Zedekiah was stubborn and hard inside. He would not turn back to the LORD, the God of Israel.

And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the LORD God of Israel.

NotePromising in God's name means making a very serious promise with God listening. The old words say Zedekiah stiffened his neck. It is a picture of an animal that will not turn its head.

14The leaders of the priests and the people were unfaithful again and again. They copied the disgusting things the other nations did. They spoiled the LORD's house in Jerusalem, which God had set apart for himself.

Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.

NotePriests were men whose job was to lead worship at God's house. Set apart means the house was kept only for God and nothing else.

15The LORD, the God of their fathers, kept sending messages to them. He sent his messengers again and again. He did this because he cared about his people and about his house.

And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:

NoteThe messengers were prophets. A prophet was someone who told people what God said.

16But they laughed at God's messengers. They ignored his words and made fun of his prophets. At last the LORD became angry with his people. By then nothing could fix it.

But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.

17So God brought the king of the Chaldeans, that is Babylon, against them. That king killed their young men with swords, even inside the holy house. He showed no pity for young men or young women. He showed no pity for old people or those bent over with age. God handed them all over to him.

Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand.

NoteThe holy house was the temple. People thought it was the safest place of all.

18He carried everything off to Babylon. He took all the things from God's house, big and small. He took the treasures of the LORD's house, and of the king and his officials.

And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon.

NoteOfficials were the king's helpers who ran the country for him.

19They burned God's house down. They broke down the wall around Jerusalem. They burned all its palaces and destroyed everything of value.

And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.

NoteCities had a high wall all around to keep enemies out. Once the wall was broken down, the city could not keep anyone out.

20The people who lived through the fighting were taken away to Babylon. There they had to serve the king and his sons. That lasted until Persia became the ruling kingdom.

And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:

NoteWhen people are taken from home to live in another country, it is called exile. The people of Judah had to live in Babylon, far away.

21This happened just as the LORD had said through Jeremiah. The land finally got its sabbaths, its times of rest. It lay empty and rested for seventy years.

To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.

NoteA sabbath is a rest day. God's law also said farmers should let their fields rest every seventh year. Now the empty land got all its rest at once.

1A message came to Jeremiah from the LORD. King Zedekiah had sent two men to him. They were Pashur son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, a priest.

The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying,

NoteJeremiah was a prophet. A prophet told people what God was saying. Zephaniah was a priest. Priests worked at God's temple and helped people pray. When LORD is written in big letters, it stands for God's own name.

2The men said, "Please ask the LORD about us. Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon, is making war on us. Maybe the LORD will do great wonders like he did long ago. Then the king of Babylon will go away and leave us alone."

Enquire, I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the LORD will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.

NoteBabylon was a strong country far away. Its king sent an army to take over Jerusalem. King Zedekiah wanted Jeremiah to find out God's answer for him. Long ago God had rescued his people from Egypt. The king hoped God would do something big like that again.

3Then Jeremiah said to them, "Here is what you must tell Zedekiah."

Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:

4The LORD, the God of Israel, says this: Look, I will turn your own weapons back against you. You are using them to fight the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans, his army. They have camped all around outside your wall. I will bring that army right into the middle of this city.

Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.

NoteThe Chaldeans were the people of Babylon. Their soldiers sat in camps all around the city wall. This was called a siege. No food could get in, and nobody could get out.

5I myself will fight against you. My hand will be stretched out, and my arm will be strong. I will come in anger, in burning anger, and in very great anger.

And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.

Note"With an outstretched hand and with a strong arm" meant God's full strength. Those same words once told how God saved his people. Here that strength is turned against them.

6I will strike down the people who live in this city, and the animals too. They will die from a terrible sickness that spreads fast.

And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.

7After that, says the LORD, I will hand over Zedekiah, king of Judah. I will hand over his helpers and the people too. That means the ones still alive after the sickness, the fighting, and the hunger. I will give them to Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon. I will give them to their enemies, who want them dead. He will kill them with the sword. He will not spare them or feel sorry for them at all.

And afterward, saith the LORD, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.

Note"The sword" is a way of saying war and killing. The King James calls the hunger "famine." That is when a city runs out of food.

8And you must say this to the people. The LORD says: Look, I am setting two paths in front of you. One path leads to life. One path leads to death.

And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.

9Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, by hunger, or by sickness. But whoever goes out and gives himself up to the Chaldeans outside will live. He will get to keep his own life, and nothing more.

He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.

NoteSoldiers who won a battle carried home prizes. The King James calls such a prize a "prey." Here the only thing a person carries away is his own life.

10I have set my face against this city to bring harm, not good, says the LORD. It will be handed over to the king of Babylon. He will burn it down with fire.

For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.

NoteTo "set my face against" something meant to decide firmly. God has made up his mind about this city.

11And say this to the family of the king of Judah: Listen to the word of the LORD.

And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the LORD;

NoteThe "house of the king" means the king's whole family. It does not mean a building.

12Family of David, the LORD says this: Judge people fairly, every morning. When someone is robbed, save him from the one who hurts him. If you do not, my anger will burn out like fire. No one will be able to put that fire out. This is because of the evil things you have done.

O house of David, thus saith the LORD; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

NoteDavid was a great king of Israel long ago. These kings all came from his family. Kings listened to people's problems early each morning. Helping people who were treated unfairly was the king's job.

13Look, I am against you, says the LORD. You live above the valley, up on the flat rocky hill. You say, "Who can come at us? Who can get inside our homes?"

Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the LORD; which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?

NoteJerusalem sat high up on a rocky hill. Deep valleys lay below it. That made the people there feel safe from enemies.

14But I will punish you for the things you have done, says the LORD. I will light a fire in your forest. It will burn up everything around it.

But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the LORD: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.

NoteThe king's palace was built with many cedar wood posts. People called it the Forest House. A fire in that "forest" would burn the palace down.

8But some people are like the bad figs, too rotten to eat. This is what the LORD says about them. That is how I will treat King Zedekiah of Judah. I will treat his leaders the same way. I will also treat the people still left in Jerusalem the same way. And I will treat the people now living in Egypt the same way.

And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:

NoteZedekiah was a king of Judah who ruled after Jeconiah was taken away. The King James word "residue" means the people who were left behind. Egypt was a country to the south, and some people from Judah ran there hoping to be safe.

9I will send them away into every kingdom on earth, and it will go badly for them. Everywhere I send them, people will look down on them. People will talk about them, make fun of them, and use their name in curses.

And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.

NoteThe King James piles up four words: "a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse." They all mean being shamed in front of everyone. A "proverb" here is a saying people repeat again and again. Using someone's name in a curse meant saying, "may you end up like them."

10I will send war, hunger, and sickness among them. It will go on until none of them are left in the land. That is the land I gave to them and to their parents long ago."

And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

NoteThe sword stands for war. A famine is a time when there is not enough food to eat. A pestilence is a sickness that spreads fast and makes many people die. "Their fathers" means their parents and grandparents from long ago.

1Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah. When his rule began, a message came to Jeremiah from the LORD.

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

NoteA prophet was someone who told people what God said. Jeremiah was one. Judah was a small country with its own king. The word LORD in big letters is God's own name.

2The LORD said to me, "Make a yoke out of straps and wooden bars. Put it on your own neck."

Thus saith the LORD to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck,

NoteA yoke is a wooden bar laid across the necks of two oxen. It makes them pull a plow or a cart together. Wearing a yoke was a picture of belonging to someone else.

3Messengers have come to Jerusalem to see Zedekiah, king of Judah. Send word through them to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon.

And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;

NoteEdom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon were small countries near Judah. Each one had its own king. Zedekiah was the king ruling in Jerusalem at that time. Messengers carried words between kings, because there were no letters or phones.

4Tell the messengers to say this to their own kings. "This is what the LORD of Hosts says. He is the God of Israel, and he commands great armies."

And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters;

5"I made the earth by my great power and my strong arm. I made the people and the animals that live on it. I give the land to anyone I choose."

I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.

Note"My strong arm" is a picture. It means God is strong enough to do whatever he plans.

6"Now I have handed all these lands to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. He works for me. I have given him the wild animals too."

And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.

NoteBabylon was a huge, powerful country far to the east. Nebuchadnezzar was its king, and his army beat everyone nearby. God calls him "my servant" here. That means God was using him to do what God had planned.

7"All nations will serve him, then his son, then his grandson. Then the time for his own land will come. Many nations and great kings will make him serve them."

And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.

NoteBabylon looked like it would last forever. God says it will not. One day other kings will rule over Babylon instead.

8"Some nation may refuse to serve Nebuchadnezzar. It may refuse to put its neck under his yoke. Then I will punish that nation, says the LORD. War, hunger, and deadly sickness will come. They will last until Nebuchadnezzar has wiped that nation out."

And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

NoteWhen an army surrounded a city, no food could get in. People grew hungry, and sickness spread fast. That is why war, hunger, and sickness are named together.

9"So do not listen to your prophets or your fortune tellers. Do not listen to people who read dreams or do magic. They tell you, 'You will not serve the king of Babylon.'"

Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon:

NoteFortune tellers said they could tell you what would happen next. Some watched the stars, and some read dreams. People paid them to hear good news. These men were guessing, not hearing from God.

10"They are telling you lies. Their lies will pull you far from your land. I will send you away, and you will die."

For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.

11"But some nation may put its neck under Babylon's yoke and serve him. I will let that nation stay in its own land, says the LORD. Its people will farm it and live there."

But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.

12I told King Zedekiah of Judah the very same thing. Put your necks under the yoke of Babylon's king. Serve him and his people, and you will live.

I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.

13Why should you and your people die by war, hunger, and sickness? The LORD said this would happen to any nation that will not serve Babylon's king.

Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?

14Do not listen to the prophets who tell you, "You will not serve the king of Babylon." They are telling you lies.

Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.

15"I did not send them," says the LORD. "They tell lies and say the words came from me. So I will send you away, and you will die. The prophets who speak to you will die too."

For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.

16I also spoke to the priests and to all the people. This is what the LORD says. Your prophets say the bowls, cups, and tools from the LORD's house will come back from Babylon very soon. Do not listen. They are telling you lies.

Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the LORD’s house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.

NotePriests were the men who worked at God's house and led worship there. The LORD's house was the temple in Jerusalem, a large stone building. The gold and silver bowls, cups, and tools were used in worship there.

17Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should this city be turned into a pile of ruins?

Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste?

18Maybe they really are prophets with a message from the LORD. Then let them beg the LORD of Hosts for help. Some things are still left in the LORD's house, in the king's palace, and in Jerusalem. Let them pray that these are not carried off to Babylon.

But if they be prophets, and if the word of the LORD be with them, let them now make intercession to the LORD of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon.

19The LORD of Hosts speaks about the pillars. He speaks about the basin called the sea, and about the bases. He speaks about the other things left in this city.

For thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in this city,

NoteThe temple had two tall bronze pillars standing at its front door. It also had a giant bronze bowl of water, so big it was called "the sea." Priests washed there before their work. The pillars and the basin were made of bronze, and the bases were the stands the basin sat on.

20King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did not take those things away before. That was when he took Jeconiah away from Jerusalem to Babylon. Jeconiah was the son of Jehoiakim and king of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar took the important men of Judah and Jerusalem too.

Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;

NoteYears before this, Babylon's army had already come once. They took King Jeconiah and many leaders away to Babylon. Taking a country's leaders away kept the country from fighting back.

21This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says. He speaks about the things still left in his house, in the palace of Judah's king, and in Jerusalem.

Yea, thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem;

22"They will be carried to Babylon. They will stay there until the day I come for them," says the LORD. "Then I will bring them back to this place."

They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I visit them, saith the LORD; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.

NoteThe King James says God will "visit" these things. In old English that meant to come and do something about them, not just to stop by.

1The LORD gave a message to Jeremiah. It came in the tenth year that Zedekiah was king of Judah. That was the eighteenth year that Nebuchadrezzar was king of Babylon.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar.

NoteLong ago people counted years by how long a king had ruled. Judah was the small country around Jerusalem. Babylon was a big, strong country far away to the east. Nebuchadrezzar is another way to spell Nebuchadnezzar.

2At that time Babylon's army had Jerusalem surrounded. He was locked up in the guards' courtyard at the palace of Judah's king.

For then the king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah’s house.

NoteAn army "surrounded" a city so no one could go in or out. They waited until the people inside ran out of food. A prophet is someone who tells people what God says. Jeremiah was a prophet, a man who told people what God said.

3King Zedekiah of Judah was the one who had locked him up. The king said, "Why do you keep saying this? You say the LORD says, 'I am about to hand this city to the king of Babylon. He will capture it.'"

For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

NoteJeremiah kept telling people a message from God that the king did not want to hear.

4"You also say, 'King Zedekiah of Judah will not get away from the Chaldeans. He will be handed over to the king of Babylon. He will talk with him face to face and look him in the eye.'"

And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;

NoteThe Chaldeans were the people of Babylon. Their army was the one outside the city.

5"'The king will take Zedekiah to Babylon. He will stay there until I deal with him, says the LORD. If you fight the Chaldeans, you will not win.'"

And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the LORD: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.

1This is the message the LORD gave to Jeremiah, a prophet who told people what God said. At that time Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, was fighting Jerusalem. His army attacked the city and all the towns around it. The kingdoms and people he ruled fought there too.

The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying,

NoteBabylon was a big, strong country far to the east. Its army took over other lands and ruled them. Jerusalem was the main city of God's people.

2The LORD, the God of Israel, said this. Go and speak to Zedekiah, the king of Judah. Tell him what the LORD says. I am going to hand this city over to the king of Babylon. He will burn it down.

Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:

NoteIsrael was the name of God's people, one big family. Judah was the small land where they still lived. Zedekiah was their last king.

3You will not get away from him. You will surely be caught and handed to him. You will look him in the eye. He will talk to you face to face. Then you will go to Babylon.

And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.

NoteWhen a king lost a war, he was taken away. He became a prisoner in the winner's country.

4But listen to what the LORD says, Zedekiah, king of Judah. This is what the LORD says about you. You will not be killed by the sword.

Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword:

Note"The sword" is a way of saying war. Zedekiah would not be killed in a battle.

5You will die in peace. People burned sweet spices for the kings who lived before you. They will burn spices for you in the same way. They will cry for you and say, "Oh, our master!" I myself have said this, says the LORD.

But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD.

NoteWhen a king died, people burned sweet-smelling spices. The smoke was a way to honor him. It showed everyone that he mattered.

6So Jeremiah the prophet said all these words to King Zedekiah in Jerusalem.

Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem,

7At that time the king of Babylon's army was fighting Jerusalem. It was also fighting the towns of Judah that were left. It attacked the towns of Lachish and Azekah. Those were the only towns with strong walls still standing in Judah.

When the king of Babylon’s army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah: for these defenced cities remained of the cities of Judah.

NoteLachish and Azekah were towns with thick walls around them. Walls like that kept enemies outside. Only these two towns were still standing.