Zedekiah

Tzidkiyahu king of Y'hudah and his officials I will hand over to their enemies, to those who seek their lives and to the army of the king of Bavel, which has withdrawn.

Tzidkiyahu the son of Yoshiyahu became king, succeeding Koniyahu the son of Y'hoyakim, whom N'vukhadretzar king of Bavel had made king over the land of Y'hudah.

Tzidkiyahu the king sent Y'hukhal the son of Shelemyahu and Tz'fanyahu the son of Ma'aseiyah, the cohen, to the prophet Yirmeyahu with the message, "Please pray to ADONAI our God for us."

Then Tzidkiyahu the king sent and had him brought; and the king asked him secretly, in his palace, "Is there any word from ADONAI?" "There is," Yirmeyahu said. "You will be handed over to the king of Bavel."

Yirmeyahu asked King Tzidkiyahu, "In what way have I sinned against you or against your officials or against this people, that has caused you to put me in prison?

At that, Tzidkiyahu the king gave the order, at which they committed Yirmeyahu to the guards' quarters and gave him daily a loaf of bread from the Bakers' Street, until all the bread in the city had been used up. Thus Yirmeyahu remained in the guards' quarters.

Tzidkiyahu the king said, "All right, he is in your hands; for the king can't prevent you from doing as you please."

Tzidkiyahu summoned and had Yirmeyahu brought to him through the third entry in the house of ADONAI. Then the king said to Yirmeyahu, "I want to ask you something; don't hide anything from me."

Yirmeyahu said to Tzidkiyahu, "If I do say it to you, won't you have me put to death? And if I give you counsel, you won't listen to me."

So Tzidkiyahu swore secretly to Yirmeyahu, "As ADONAI lives, who gave us our lives, I will not put you to death; nor will I hand you over to these men who want you put to death."

Then Yirmeyahu said to Tzidkiyahu, "Here is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, says: 'If you will go out and surrender to the king of Bavel's officers, then you will stay alive - this city will not be burned down; and you and your family will live.

Tzidkiyahu the king said to Yirmeyahu, "I am afraid of the Judeans who deserted to the Kasdim. The Kasdim might hand me over to them, and they would mistreat me."

Tzidkiyahu said to Yirmeyahu, "Don't tell anyone what you just said, or you will die.

In the ninth year of Tzidkiyahu king of Y'hudah, in the tenth month, N'vukhadretzar king of Bavel marched against Yerushalayim with his entire army and began to lay siege against it.

On the ninth day of the fourth month of the eleventh year of Tzidkiyahu, they broke through into the city.

When Tzidkiyahu the king of Y'hudah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled, leaving the city by night through the king's garden, exiting from the gate between the two walls, and continuing out by the route through the 'Aravah.

But the army of the Kasdim went in pursuit of them and overtook Tzidkiyahu on the plains near Yericho. Upon capturing him, they brought him up to N'vukhadretzar king of Bavel at Rivlah, in the land of Hamat, where he passed judgment on him.

The king of Bavel slaughtered the sons of Tzidkiyahu before his eyes in Rivlah; the king of Bavel also slaughtered all the leading men of Y'hudah.

ADONAI says, 'I will hand over Pharaoh Hofra king of Egypt to his enemies, to those seeking his life - just as I handed Tzidkiyahu king of Y'hudah over to N'vukhadretzar king of Bavel, his enemy, who sought his life.'"

This is the word of ADONAI that came to Yirmeyahu the prophet concerning 'Eilam at the beginning of the reign of Tzidkiyahu king of Y'hudah:

This is the order which Yirmeyahu the prophet gave to S'rayah the son of Neriyah, the son of Machseyah, when he went to Bavel with Tzidkiyahu the king of Y'hudah in the fourth year of his reign. S'rayah was quartermaster.

Tzidkiyahu was twenty-one years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for eleven years in Yerushalayim. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Yirmeyahu, from Livnah.

And it was because of ADONAI's anger that all these things happened to Yerushalayim and Y'hudah, until he had thrown them out of his presence. Tzidkiyahu rebelled against the king of Bavel;

The city remained under siege into the eleventh year of King Tzidkiyahu.

But the army of the Kasdim went in pursuit of the king and overtook Tzidkiyahu on the plains near Yericho; all his troops deserted him.