11. Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 11 years.
12. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He didn't pay any attention to the message the Lord spoke through the prophet Jeremiah.
13. Zedekiah also refused to remain under the control of King Nebuchadnezzar. The king had made him take an oath in God's name. But his heart became very stubborn. He wouldn't turn to the Lord, the God of Israel.
14. And that's not all. The people and the leaders of the priests became more and more unfaithful. They followed all of the practices of the nations. The Lord hated those practices. The people and leaders made the Lord's temple "unclean." The Lord had set the temple in Jerusalem apart in a special way for himself.
15. The Lord, the God of Israel, sent word to his people through his messengers. He sent it to them again and again. He took pity on his people. He also took pity on the temple where he lived.
16. But God's people made fun of his messengers. They hated his words. They laughed at his prophets. Finally the Lord's burning anger was stirred up against his people. Nothing could save them.
17. The Lord brought the king of Babylonia against them. The Babylonian army killed their young people with their swords at the temple. They didn't spare young men or women. They didn't spare the old people either. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.