¹⁷ And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s^[a] uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.^(A)

Judah’s King Zedekiah

¹⁸ Zedekiah^(B) was twenty-one years old when he became king,^(C) and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal^(D) daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. ¹⁹ Zedekiah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight just as Jehoiakim had done.^{(E) 20} Because of the Lord’s anger,^(F) it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he finally banished them from his presence.^(G) Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.^(H)

¹⁰ In the spring^[a](A) Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon along with the valuable articles of the Lord’s temple. Then he made Jehoiachin’s brother Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.^(B)

Judah’s King Zedekiah

¹¹ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old^(C) when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹² He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God and did not humble himself^(D) before the prophet Jeremiah at the Lord’s command.^(E)

The Yoke of Babylon

27 At the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah^[a] son of Josiah, king of Judah,^(A) this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord:^{[b] 2} This is what the Lord said to me: “Make chains and yoke bars^(B) for yourself and put them on your neck.^{(C) 3} Send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon^(D) through messengers who are coming to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem. ⁴ Command them to go to their masters, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Tell this to your masters: ⁵ “By my great strength and outstretched arm,^(E) I made the earth,^(F) and the people, and animals on the face of the earth. I give it to anyone I please.^{[c](G) 6} So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of my servant^(H) Nebuchadnezzar,^(I) king of Babylon. I have even given him the wild animals to serve him. ⁷ All nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until the time for his own land comes, and then many nations and great kings will enslave him.^(J)

⁸ “‘“As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and does not place its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish by sword, famine, and plague—this is the Lord’s declaration—until through him I have destroyed it. ⁹ So you should not listen to your prophets, diviners,^(K) dreamers, fortune-tellers,^(L) or sorcerers^(M) who say to you, ‘Don’t serve the king of Babylon!’ ¹⁰ They are prophesying a lie^(N) to you so that you will be removed from your land. I will banish you, and you will perish. ¹¹ But as for the nation that will put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave it in its own land, and that nation will cultivate^[d] it and reside in it. This is the Lord’s declaration.”’”