341 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord , when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army , with all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion and all the peoples , were fighting against Jerusalem and against all its cities , saying , 2 "Thus says the Lord God of Israel , ' Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him: "Thus says the Lord , 'Behold , I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon , and he will burn it with fire . 3 ' You will not escape from his hand , for you will surely be captured and delivered into his hand ; and you will see the king of Babylon eye to eye , and he will speak with you face to face , and you will go to Babylon .' "' 4 "Yet hear the word of the Lord , O Zedekiah king of Judah ! Thus says the Lord concerning you, 'You will not die by the sword . 5 'You will die in peace ; and as spices were burned for your fathers , the former kings who were before you, so they will burn spices for you; and they will lament for you, "Alas , lord !"' For I have spoken the word ," declares the Lord . 6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem 7 when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the remaining cities of Judah , that is, Lachish and Azekah , for they alone remained as fortified cities among the cities of Judah .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jeremiah 34:1-7
Commentary on Jeremiah 34:1-7
(Read Jeremiah 34:1-7)
Zedekiah is told that the city shall be taken, and that he shall die a captive, but he shall die a natural death. It is better to live and die penitent in a prison, than to live and die impenitent in a palace.