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

Judah’s King Zedekiah

¹⁸ Zedekiah^(B) was 21 years old when he became king^(C) and reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal^(D) daughter of Jeremiah, 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 utensils 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 21 years old^(C) when he became king and reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. ¹² He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God and did not humble himself^(D) before Jeremiah the prophet 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, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord:^{[b] 2} “This is what the Lord said to me: Make chains and yoke bars^(A) for yourself and put them on your neck. 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^(B) through messengers who are coming to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem. ⁴ Command them to go to their masters, saying: This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: This is what you must say to your masters: ⁵ By My great strength and outstretched arm,^(C) I made the earth,^(D) and the people, and animals on the face of the earth. I give it to anyone I please.^{[c](E) 6} So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant^(F) Nebuchadnezzar,^(G) 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.^(H)

⁸ “As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve Nebuchadnezzar king 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 But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, diviners,^(I) dreamers, fortune-tellers,^(J) or sorcerers^(K) who say to you, ‘Don’t serve the king of Babylon!’ ¹⁰ for they prophesy a lie 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.