Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia, appointed Zedekiah to be king of Judah. He was the son of Josiah. Zedekiah ruled in place of Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim.
But King Zedekiah sent Jehucal to me. He sent the priest Zephaniah along with him. Jehucal was the son of Shelemiah. Zephaniah was the son of Maaseiah. Jehucal and Zephaniah brought the king's message to me. It said, "Please pray to the Lord our God for us."
The armies of Babylonia were attacking Jerusalem. They received a report that Pharaoh's army had marched out of Egypt to help Zedekiah. So they pulled back from Jerusalem.
The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, "The king of Judah has sent you to ask me for advice. Tell him, 'Pharaoh's army has marched out to help you. But it will go back to its own land. It will return to Egypt.
Suppose you destroy all of the armies of Babylonia that are attacking you. Suppose only wounded men are left in their tents. Even then they will come out and burn this city down.' "
I got as far as the Benjamin Gate. But the captain of the guard arrested me. He said, "You are going over to the side of the Babylonians!" The captain's name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah. Shelemiah was the son of Hananiah.
I said to Irijah, "That isn't true! I'm not going to the side of the Babylonians." But Irijah wouldn't listen to me. Instead, he arrested me. He brought me to the officials.
They were angry with me. So they had me beaten. Then they took me to the house of the secretary Jonathan. It had been made into a prison. That's where they put me.
Then King Zedekiah sent for me. He had me brought to the palace. There he spoke to me in private. He asked, "Do you have a message from the Lord for me?" "Yes," I replied. "You will be handed over to the king of Babylonia."
"But now please listen, my king and master. Let me make my appeal to you. Please don't send me back to the house of the secretary Jonathan. If you do, I'll die there."
Then King Zedekiah gave the order. His men put me in the courtyard of the guard. They gave me bread from the street of the bakers. They did it every day until all of the bread in the city was gone. So I remained in the courtyard of the guard.