11 Zed·e·kiʹah+ was 21 years old when he became king, and he reigned for 11 years in Jerusalem.+

13 He also rebelled against King Neb·u·chad·nezʹzar,+ who had made him take an oath by God, and he remained stubborn* and hardhearted and refused to turn to Jehovah the God of Israel.

12 Also to King Zed·e·kiʹah+ of Judah I spoke in the same way, saying: “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and you will keep living.+

17 Jeremiah then said to Zed·e·kiʹah: “This is what Jehovah, the God of armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘If you surrender* to the princes of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared,* and this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will be spared.+

12 “Please tell the rebellious house, ‘Do you not realize what these things mean?’ Say, ‘Look! The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took its king and its princes and brought them back with him to Babylon.+ 13 Furthermore, he took one of the royal offspring*+ and made a covenant with him and put him under an oath.+ Then he took away the prominent men of the land,+ 14 so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to rise up, so that only by keeping his covenant might it continue to exist.+ 15 But the king finally rebelled against him+ by sending his messengers to Egypt to obtain horses+ and a large army from them.+ Will he succeed? Will the one doing these things escape punishment? Can he break the covenant and still escape?’+