2 Kings 24 - 25

As I read of the wickedness of Judah after the reign of Josiah, my thoughts turned to many of the great men that lived in during this period. Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, was not like his father and -

"...did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD..." (Old Testament 2 Kings 23:37)

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up...against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servants the prophets.
3 Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did;
4 And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon." (Old Testament 2 Kings 24:1 - 4)

I would have to assume the innocent blood shed by Manasseh, Jehoiakim's grandfather, must have been the prophet's that testified of his wickedness. Jehoiakim was killed probably in rebellion and Jehoiachin his son took over and he also ruled in wickedness. He was carried away -

"...to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
16 And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon." (Old Testament 2 Kings 24:15 - 16)

Among these must have been great men like Daniel, Ezekiel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Zedekiah became king in Jehoiachin's stead and also failed to repent as well as the rest of Judah. It is during his reign that we learn of great men as Jeremiah, Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Lehi - great prophets, in a last ditch effort, to call the Judah to repentance. It is interesting as Babylon is on there doorsteps, we read -

"...in the commencement of the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah...there came many prophets, prophesying unto the people that they must repent, or the great city Jerusalem must be destroyed." (Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 1:4)

Nephi records that as Lehi went forth among the people -

"...the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of them; for he truly testified of their wickedness and their abominations; and he testified that the things which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of a Messiah, and also the redemption of the world.
20 And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away..." (Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 1:19 - 20)

I thought was Josephus wrote was interesting -

“Now as to Zedekiah himself, while he heard the prophet [Jeremiah] speak, he believed him, and agreed to every thing as true, and supposed it was for his advantage; but then his friends perverted him, and dissuaded him from what the prophet advised, and obliged him to do what they pleased. Ezekiel also foretold in Babylon what calamities were coming upon the people, which when he heard, he sent accounts of them unto Jerusalem. But Zedekiah did not believe their prophecies, for the reason following: It happened that the two prophets agreed with one another in what they said as in all other things, that the city should be taken, and Zedekiah himself should be taken captive; but Ezekiel disagreed with him [Jeremiah], and said that Zedekiah should not see Babylon [see Ezekiel 12:13], while Jeremiah said to him, that the king of Babylon should carry him away thither in bonds [see Jeremiah 34:3]; and because they did not both say the same thing as to this circumstance, he disbelieved what they both appeared to agree in, and condemned them as not speaking truth therein, although all the things foretold him did come to pass according to their prophecies, as we shall show upon a fitter opportunity.” (Antiquities, bk. 10, chap. 7, par. 2.)

As recorded in 2 Kings 25:7, both prophets were vindicated by subsequent events. After chastising Zedekiah for his unfaithfulness and treachery, Nebuchadnezzar -

“commanded his sons and his friends to be slain, while Zedekiah and the rest of the captains looked on; after which he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him, and carried him to Babylon. And these things happened to him, as Jeremiah and Ezekiel had foretold to him, that he should be caught, and brought before the king of Babylon, and should speak to him face to face, and should see his eyes with his own eyes; and thus far did Jeremiah prophesy. But he was also made blind, and brought to Babylon, but did not see it, according to the prediction of Ezekiel.” (Antiquities, bk. 10, chap. 8, par. 2.)