1. Zedekiah, son of Josiah, became king, succeeding Coniah, son of Jehoiakim; Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, appointed him king over the land of Judah.
2. Neither he, nor his officials, nor the people of the land would listen to the words which the Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.
3. Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal, son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah, son of Maaseiah the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet with this request: “Please appeal to the Lord, our God, for us.”
4. At this time Jeremiah still came and went freely among the people; he had not yet been put into prison.
5. Meanwhile, Pharaoh’s army had set out from Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard this report, they withdrew from the city.