22. Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and were saying, “‘Your trusted friends have deceived youand prevailed against you;now that your feet are sunk in the mud,they turn away from you.’
23. All your wives and your sons shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire.”
24. Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die.
25. If the officials hear that I have spoken with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; hide nothing from us and we will not put you to death,’
26. then you shall say to them, ‘I made a humble plea to the king that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.’”
27. Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and asked him, and he answered them as the king had instructed him. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been overheard.
28. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.