Jer 38:19-24 | TNotes | STEP | 38:19 Zedekiah still feared his fellow countrymen—this time, those who had defected —more than he feared the Lord or the Babylonians , so he rejected Jeremiah’s advice. This was Jeremiah’s last message to the king.

b38:20-22►

c38:24-28►

‏ Jeremiah 38:19-24

38:19 ^a Zedekiah still feared his fellow countrymen—this time, those who had defected—more than he feared the Lord or the Babylonians, so he rejected Jeremiah’s advice. This was Jeremiah’s last message to the king.
Summary for Jer 38:20-22: 38:20-22 ^b Jeremiah reassured Zedekiah that everything would go well if Zedekiah chose to obey the Lord. If he refused, even his friends would abandon him.
Summary for Jer 38:24-28: 38:24-28 ^c When Zedekiah’s fear of his officials surfaced again, he demanded that Jeremiah keep secret what he had told the king.

• The officials might have suspected that Zedekiah was about to surrender to the enemy. Jeremiah obeyed the king’s order to keep quiet, and he spent the final days of the siege in the palace prison under the king’s protection.