10. Zedekiah's Visit to Babylon, 593 BC.
We know of Zedekiah's visit to Babylon only because it is mentioned in passing in another oracle of Jeremiah about the judgment that would befall Babylon reported in 51:59-64:
This is the message Jeremiah gave to the staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with Zedekiah king of Judah in the fourth year of his reign. Jeremiah had written on a scroll about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon—all that had been recorded concerning Babylon. He said to Seraiah, "When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. Then say,'O LORD, you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither man nor animal will live in it; it will be desolate for ever.' When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates. Then say,'So will Babylon sink to rise no more because of the disaster I will bring upon her. And her people will fall.'"
In all probability he may have summoned by Nebuchadnessar to give an account and assurance of his loyalty as a vassal. A gathering of ambassaors from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon—all unhappy Babylonian vassals—had consulted in Jerusalem "early in the reign of Zedekiah" (27:3). The substance of the conference is not known, but the strong message preached by Jeremiah at that time to submit to Babylonian suggests the possibility that they may have met to discuss how they might "manage" their unhappiness. News of this gathering may have reached the ears of the Babylonian king, who then thought he should hear directly from the Jewish king.
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