18 But if you don't surrender, I will let the Babylonian army capture Jerusalem and burn it down, and you will be taken prisoner.”
19 Zedekiah answered, “I can't surrender to the Babylonians. I'm too afraid of the Jews who have already joined them. The Babylonians might hand me over to those Jews, and they would torture me.”
20 I said, “If you will just obey the Lord, the Babylonians won't hand you over to those Jews. You will be allowed to live, and all will go well for you.
21 But the Lord has shown me that if you refuse to obey,
22 then the women of your palace will be taken prisoner by Nebuchadnezzar's officials. And those women will say to you:“Friends you trusted led you astray.Now you're trapped in mud,and those friends you trustedhave all turned away.
23 The Babylonian army will take your wives and children captive, you will be taken as a prisoner to the King of Babylonia, and Jerusalem will be burnt down.”
24 Zedekiah said, “Jeremiah, if you tell anyone what we have talked about, you might lose your life.