Jeremiah 34:1-7

YAHWEH spoke to me when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, was at war against Jerusalem and the cities of Judah. He had all his army with him, including soldiers from all the kingdoms of his empire. YAHWEH, God of Israel, then told me to go to Zedekiah king of Judah and give him this message: “YAHWEH says to you, ‘I am going to hand over this city to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down. You will not escape from his clutches but will certainly be captured and given over to him. You will see the king of Babylon face-to-face and speak to him in person. Then you will go into exile to Babylon. So listen now to the promise of YAHWEH, Zedekiah king of Judah. I, YAHWEH, say that you will not be executed. You will die in peace, and incense will be burned for you at your funeral as they burned it for the kings before you. They will mourn for you, saying: “How terrible! Our highness is dead!” I, YAHWEH, have spoken.’ ” So I repeated all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, the army of Babylon was trying to break through the walls of Lachish and Azekah, the only remaining fortified towns of Judah.