13. And they pulled Jeremiah by the ropes and brought him up from the pit. And Jeremiah stayed in the courtyard of the guard.
14. And Zedekiah the king sent and made someone bring Jeremiah the prophet to him, to the third entrance that was at the temple of Yahweh. And the king said to Jeremiah, “I am asking you something, you must not hide anything from me.”
15. And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not surely kill me? Besides, if I advise you, you will not listen to me.
16. So Zedekiah the king swore to Jeremiah in secret, saying, “As Yahweh lives, who has made for us this life, I will not kill you and I will not give you into the hand of these men who are seeking your life.”
17. Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘If only you will go surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then you will live, and this city will not be burned with fire, and you will live, you and your house.
18. But if you do not go surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire, and you will not escape from their hand.’ ”
19. And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest they give me into their hand and they abuse me.”
20. And Jeremiah said, “They will not give you over. Please obey the voice of Yahweh with regard to what I am saying to you, and it will go well with you, and you will live.
21. But if you are refusing to surrender, this is the thing that Yahweh has shown me.
22. Now look, all the women who remain in the house of the king of Judah are being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon. And look, they are saying, ‘Your trusted friends have misled you, and they have prevailed against you. Your feet are stuck in the mud, so they turned backward.’
23. And all your wives and your children will be led out to the Chaldeans, and you will not escape from their hand, but by the hand of the king of Babylon you will be seized, and this city will burn with fire.”
24. And Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “No man must know about these words so that you will not die.
25. And if the officials hear that I have spoken with you, and they come to you and say to you, ‘Please tell us what you said to the king. You must not conceal it from us so that we will not kill you. And what did the king say to you?’
26. Then you shall say to them, ‘I was presenting my plea before the king, to not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan to die there.’ ”