With tears Jeremiah entreated Zedekiah to save himself and his people. With anguish of spirit he assured him that unless he should heed the counsel of God, he could not escape with his life, and all his possessions would fall to the Babylonians. But the king had started on the wrong course, and he would not retrace his steps. He decided to 458 follow the counsel of the false prophets, and of the men whom he really despised, and who ridiculed his weakness in yielding so readily to their wishes. He sacrificed the noble freedom of his manhood and became a cringing slave to public opinion. With no fixed purpose to do evil, he was also without resolution to stand boldly for the right. Convicted though he was of the value of the counsel given by Jeremiah, he had not the moral stamina to obey; and as a consequence he advanced steadily in the wrong direction. The king was even too weak to be willing that his courtiers and people should know that he had held a conference with Jeremiah, so fully had the fear of man taken possession of his soul. If Zedekiah had stood up bravely and declared that he believed the words of the prophet, already half fulfilled, what desolation might have been averted! He should have said, I will obey the Lord, and save the city from utter ruin. I dare not disregard the commands of God because of the fear or favor of man. I love the truth, I hate sin, and I will follow the counsel of the Mighty One of Israel.

Jeremias bønfaldt med tårer Zedekias om at redde sig selv og folket. I sin sjælekvide forsikrede han kongen om, at denne ville miste livet, og at babylonerne ville tage alle hans ejendele, hvis han ikke rettede sig efter Guds råd. Men kongen var slået ind på den forkerte vej og ville ikke vende om. Han besluttede at rette sig efter de falske profeter og de mænd, som han i virkeligheden foragtede. De latterliggjorde hans svaghed, fordi han så villigt rettede sig efter deres ønsker. Han ofrede sin manddoms ædle frihed og nedværdigede sig til at lefle for den offentlige mening. Det var ikke hans mening at gøre det onde, men han kunne heller ikke tage en fast beslutning om at stille sig på rettens side. Skønt han var overbevist om, at Jeremias råd var værdifuldt, havde han ikke moralsk kraft nok til at adlyde, og følgen var, at han blev ved at gå i den forkerte retning.