16
And the king swore to him, saying, the Lord lives who gave us this soul, I will not slay thee, neither will I give thee into the hands of these men.
17
And Jeremias said to him, Thus saith the Lord; If thou wilt indeed go forth to the captains of the king of Babylon, thy soul shall live, and this city shall certainly not be burnt with fire; and thou shalt live, and thy house.
18
But if thou wilt not go forth this city shall be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt by no means escape.
19
And the king said to Jeremias, I consider the Jews that have gone over to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hands, and they mock me.
20
And Jeremias said, They shall in no wise deliver thee up. Hear the word of the Lord which I speak to thee; and it shall be better for thee, and thy soul shall live.
21
But if thou wilt not go forth, this is the word which the Lord has shewn me.
22
And, behold, all the women that are left in the house of the king of Juda were brought forth to the princes of the king of Babylon; and they said, The men who were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and will prevail against thee; and they shall cause thy foot to slide and fail, they have turned back from thee.
23
And they shall bring forth thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt by no means escape, for thou shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burnt.
24
Then the king said to him, Let no man know of these words, and certainly thou shalt not die.
25
And if the princes shall hear that I have spoken to thee, and they come to thee, and say to thee, Tell us, what said the king to thee? hide not from us, and we will in no wise slay thee, and what said the king to thee?
26
Then thou shalt say to them, I brought my supplication before the presence of the king, that he would not send me back into the house of Jonathan, that I should die there.