Jeremiah 38:17

We do not know what Zedekiah’s question was, but it must have been: "Has the Lord changed His mind?" No, He had not, but Zedekiah needed to change his. Jeremiah promised the king on the authority of Almighty Yahweh, Israel’s God, that if he surrendered to the Babylonian military officers, he would live. Furthermore, they would not burn down the city, and his whole household would survive. This must have seemed like a very unlikely possibility to Zedekiah since he had proved to be a rebellious vassal of Nebuchadnezzar. Suzerains usually mutilated and killed rebel kings who surrendered to them. [Note: Harrison, Jeremiah and . . ., p. 156.] Ironically, Chaldean officials would have spared Zedekiah’s life, but Judean officials were seeking to snuff out Jeremiah’s life.