[12] “Say to this rebellious people, ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Say to them: ‘The king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and carried off her king and her nobles, bringing them back with him to Babylon. [13] Then he took a member of the royal family and made a treaty with him, putting him under oath. He also carried away the leading men of the land, [14] so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to rise again, surviving only by keeping his treaty. [15] But the king rebelled against him by sending his envoys to Egypt to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Will he break the treaty and yet escape? [16] “ ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, he shall die in Babylon, in the land of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised and whose treaty he broke. [17] Pharaoh with his mighty army and great horde will be of no help to him in war, when ramps are built and siege works erected to destroy many lives. [18] He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Because he had given his hand in pledge and yet did all these things, he shall not escape. [19] “ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: As surely as I live, I will repay him for despising my oath and breaking my covenant.
