In the final days before Jerusalem is sacked by the Babylonians, Zedekiah seeks counsel or intervention from Jeremiah for a third time (see Jeremiah 37:3, Jeremiah 37:17). The king says to Jeremiah, I will ask you a question: hide nothing from me.
We are not told what the question is, but from Jeremiah’s response in Jeremiah 38:17–18, it is clear that Zedekiah has once again asked what the Lord says about the Babylonian threat. He urges Jeremiah to hide nothing from him, probably because he knows that Jeremiah’s message has already nearly brought about the prophet’s death, and does not want the prophet to keep anything from him out of fear.
This repeated turning to Jeremiah for counsel reveals a great deal about Zedekiah. In the face of Babylonian invasion, he keeps seeking counsel from the Lord, and yet he never listens to the words of the Lord that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet
(Jeremiah 37:2). Either the prophet never says what the king wants to hear or some sort of pride or fear of man prevents him from acting on the Lord’s word1.
14 King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the LORD. The king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me.”