¹⁸ Nebuchadnezzar now made Zedekiah, another of Josiah’s sons, king of Judah. He was to be the last earthly king of the Davidic line. His reign ended when Jerusalem and its temple were destroyed in 607 B.C.E. (2 Ki. 24:17) The 11 years of Zedekiah’s reign, though, were marked by great social and political tensions in Judah.

THE CLOSING DAYS OF A DYNASTY

20. Why was Zedekiah’s reign particularly difficult for Jeremiah? (See the box on page 29.)

²⁰ Perhaps the hardest years of Jeremiah’s prophetic career were during Zedekiah’s reign. Like many of his predecessors, Zedekiah “continued to do what was bad in the eyes of Jehovah.” (Jer. 52:1, 2) He was a subject of the Babylonians, and Nebuchadnezzar made him take an oath in Jehovah’s name that obliged him to submit to the king of Babylon. Despite that, Zedekiah eventually rebelled. Meanwhile, Jeremiah’s enemies exerted great pressure on him to support the rebellion.​—2 Chron. 36:13; Ezek. 17:12, 13.

21-23. (a) What opposing factions could be found in Judah during Zedekiah’s reign? (b) How was Jeremiah treated because of his stance, and why should that interest you?

²¹ Evidently early in the reign of Zedekiah, messengers arrived in Jerusalem from the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon. Perhaps their aim was to get Zedekiah to join a coalition against Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah, however, urged Zedekiah to submit to Babylon. In line with that, Jeremiah presented the messengers with yoke bars to picture that their nations too should serve the Babylonians. (Jer. 27:1-3, 14)c That stance was not popular, and Jeremiah’s role as a spokesman with an unpopular message was made no easier by Hananiah. He was a false prophet who publicly asserted in God’s name that the Babylonian yoke would be broken. Jehovah’s word through Jeremiah, however, was that within a year, the impostor Hananiah would die. That is what occurred.​—Jer. 28:1-3, 16, 17.

²² Judah was now split into opposing factions​—those who favored submission to Babylon and those who urged rebellion. In 609 B.C.E., Zedekiah did rebel by seeking military assistance from Egypt. Jeremiah then had to contend with the nationalistic hysteria of those supporting the rebellion. (Jer. 52:3; Ezek. 17:15) Nebuchadnezzar and his armies returned to Judah to quell the revolt, conquering all the cities of Judah and again besieging Jerusalem. Jeremiah’s message to Zedekiah and his subjects at this critical time was that Jerusalem would fall to the Babylonians. Death awaited those who remained in the city. Those who went out to the Chaldeans would survive.​—Read Jeremiah 21:8-10; 52:4.

²³ The princes of Judah claimed that Jeremiah was throwing in his lot with the Babylonians. When he stated the truth, the Judean princes struck him and put him in the house of detention. (Jer. 37:13-15) Jeremiah would still not soften Jehovah’s message. Therefore, the princes persuaded Zedekiah to put Jeremiah to death. They put the prophet into an empty water cistern where he could have perished in the deep mire. But Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian serving in the king’s house, rescued Jeremiah. (Jer. 38:4-13) How often Jehovah’s people in modern times have faced perils because of their conscientious refusal to get involved in political controversies! Clearly, Jeremiah’s experience can fortify you to face trials and overcome them.

24. Describe the events of 607 B.C.E.

²⁴ In 607 B.C.E., the Babylonians finally broke through Jerusalem’s walls, and the city fell. Nebuchadnezzar’s forces burned Jehovah’s temple, demolished the city walls, and slaughtered the nobles of Judah. Zedekiah attempted to flee, only to be captured and brought before his conqueror. Zedekiah’s sons were slaughtered before his eyes, and then Nebuchadnezzar had him blinded, bound, and led away to Babylon. (Jer. 39:1-7)