1. Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Zedekiah, Josiah’s son, to succeed Coniah, Jehoiakim’s son, as king of Judah.
2. Neither Zedekiah, his attendants, nor the people of the land listened to the Lord’s words spoken by the prophet Jeremiah.
3. Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal, Shelemiah’s son, and the priest Zephaniah, Maaseiah’s son, to Jeremiah the prophet with this plea: "Please pray for us to the Lord our God." (
4. Now Jeremiah hadn’t been imprisoned yet, so he was free to come and go among the people.
5. Pharaoh’s army had recently set out from Egypt; when the Babylonians who were attacking Jerusalem learned of the Egyptian advance, they withdrew from Jerusalem.)
6. Then the Lord’s word came to Jeremiah the prophet: