Why did Zedekiah imprison Jeremiah?

The reason for Jeremiah’s arrest is made clear. It is not simply that he was intercepted while trying to leave Jerusalem (Jeremiah 37:11–15), but rather because of the message he had been preaching. When Zedekiah imprisoned Jeremiah, he accused him saying, Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it. Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hands of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye. And he shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I visit him, declares the Lord. Though you fight against the Chaldeans you shall not succeed. Zedekiah is accusing Jeremiah of betrayal for saying that Judah’s king will be taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar and that the Babylonians would defeat Judah. Zedekiah’s summary of Jeremiah’s message is of course accurate and reflects the words Jeremiah speaks regarding Judah and Zedekiah (see Jeremiah 21:1–7; Jeremiah 32:1–5; Jeremiah 34:1–7;Jeremiah 37:1–10,Jeremiah 37:17; Jeremiah 38:14–28). It is unthinkable for Zedekiah that a prophet of the Lord would speak any word against Judah or its king. The reality of course is that Jeremiah is speaking the Lord’s word. Judah is ultimately defeated by Babylon and according to Jeremiah 39:5–7, Zedekiah is taken captive and brought face to face and eye to eye with Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. The Lord does indeed visit Zedekiah in Babylon. The word visit means the Lord will deal with Zedekiah and it could either be positive, to save, or negative, to judge. However, Nebuchadnezzar kills Zedekiah’s sons in his presence and puts out his eyes. Nebuchadnezzar is literally the last person Zedekiah sees. Zedekiah’s stubborn rejection of the Lord, seen supremely in his refusal to listen to Jeremiah, means the Lord visits him in judgment and the whole nation of Judah meets the same fate.