In brief
Zedekiah is the last king of Judah before the exile. A son of Josiah, he was named Mattaniah; Nebuchadnezzar made him king in place of his nephew Jehoiachin and changed his name. He reigns eleven years and does evil in the eyes of the Lord. He questions Jeremiah in secret and rescues him from the cistern, but out of fear of his officials and of the Jews who defected to the Chaldeans, he refuses to surrender as God commands. When Jerusalem falls, he flees, is caught near Jericho, sees his sons slaughtered, and is then blinded and taken to Babylon.
What does the name Zedekiah mean?
Zedekiah (Tsidqiyahu in Hebrew) is generally linked to the expression the Lord is my righteousness. The Bible specifies that the king of Babylon gave him this name, making Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place and changing his name to Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:17). A false prophet in the days of Ahab also bears this name (1 Kings 22).
The story of Zedekiah
Made king by Nebuchadnezzar
2 Kings 24:17-20After deporting Jehoiachin, the king of Babylon puts his uncle Mattaniah on the throne and renames him Zedekiah. He is twenty-one and reigns eleven years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done. The text adds that the Lord's anger was upon Jerusalem and Judah. And Zedekiah rebels against the king of Babylon.
A yoke on Jeremiah's neck
Jeremiah 27:12-15Jeremiah wears a wooden yoke on his neck to illustrate his message, and he delivers it to the king: bring your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, serve him and his people, and you will live. He warns against the prophets who promise freedom: the Lord has not sent them, and they prophesy a lie. Zedekiah therefore knows God's will.
Jeremiah in the cistern
Jeremiah 38:4-13The officials demand Jeremiah's death because he is discouraging the fighting men. The king gives in, saying that Jeremiah is in their hands and the king can do nothing against them. Jeremiah is lowered into a cistern full of mud. The Ethiopian Ebed-melech pleads for him, and Zedekiah gives him thirty men to pull him out before he dies. The king wavers between weakness and good will.
The secret interview
Jeremiah 38:14-23Zedekiah summons Jeremiah in secret and swears not to put him to death. The prophet delivers God's word: if he surrenders to the officers of the king of Babylon, he will live and the city will not be burned; if not, he will not escape. The king admits that he is afraid of the Jews who have gone over to the Chaldeans. Jeremiah insists that he will not be handed over and urges him to obey the voice of the Lord. The king asks only for silence.
Flight and capture
Jeremiah 39:1-5In Zedekiah's ninth year, Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem; in the eleventh year, the city wall is breached. When the Babylonian officials take their seats in the Middle Gate, Zedekiah and the soldiers flee at night by way of the king's garden. The Chaldean army pursues them and overtakes the king in the plains of Jericho. He is brought to Riblah, before Nebuchadnezzar, who passes sentence on him.
Blinded and taken to Babylon
2 Kings 25:7-9The sons of Zedekiah were slaughtered before his eyes; then his eyes were put out, he was bound in bronze shackles and taken to Babylon. Soon after, Nebuzaradan burns the house of the Lord, the palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. What Jeremiah had announced comes to pass: the king who would not listen watches his sons die, and the last thing he sees is their death.
Test your knowledge
What Zedekiah teaches us
- Knowing what God asks is not enough: Zedekiah heard the word, sought it in secret, and did not obey.
- Fear of people is a trap: for fear of the officials and of mockery, Zedekiah lost what obedience would have kept for him.
- A hidden faith that dares not show itself ends up yielding to pressure; ask God for the courage of visible obedience.
- Half measures do not save: pulling Jeremiah out of the cistern was no substitute for obeying his word.
- God's warnings come true; if you hear his voice today, do not harden your heart.
Key verses
God still offers the king a way out: surrender and live, he and his household, and the city will be spared. To the very end, the prophetic word remains an open door.
Zedekiah confesses his fear of the Jews who went over to the Chaldeans. Jeremiah answers that he will not be handed over and calls him to obey the voice of the Lord: fear of people against trust in God.
His sons slaughtered before his eyes, then his eyes put out, the shackles, Babylon. The darkest verse in the books of Kings fulfills to the letter what God had announced.
Bible verses to meditate on
Frequently asked questions
Why did Zedekiah not listen to Jeremiah?
He says so himself: he feared the Jews who had gone over to the Chaldeans, afraid he would be handed over to them and abused (Jeremiah 38:19). He also feared his officials, before whom he declared himself powerless (Jeremiah 38:5). Fear of people won out over the word of God, even though he had heard it in secret.
What does the name Zedekiah mean?
Zedekiah is generally understood as the Lord is my righteousness. The Bible indicates that he was first called Mattaniah and that Nebuchadnezzar changed his name when he made him king (2 Kings 24:17). Yet the king who bore this name did not live by God's righteousness: he did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
Where can I find the story of Zedekiah in the Bible?
His reign is summarized in 2 Kings 24:17 to 25:7 and in 2 Chronicles 36:11-21. The book of Jeremiah tells of his dealings with the prophet: the yoke (Jeremiah 27), the secret consultations (Jeremiah 37 and 38), the capture of Jerusalem and his own capture (Jeremiah 39 and 52). Ezekiel 12 also foretells his fate.