1 Zedekiah, son of Josiah, became king, succeeding Coniah, son of Jehoiakim; Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, appointed him king over the land of Judah.
2 Neither he, nor his officials, nor the people of the land would listen to the words which the Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.
3 Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal, son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah, son of Maaseiah the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet with this request: “Please appeal to the Lord, our God, for us.”
4 At this time Jeremiah still came and went freely among the people; he had not yet been put into prison.
5 Meanwhile, Pharaoh’s army had set out from Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard this report, they withdrew from the city.