Commentaries:
The burdensome weight of office must have shaken the weakling king, maybe even overwhelmed him. He abruptly and unceremoniously ends the interview. Apparently, afraid lest his princes learn of the momentous burden on his shoulder, he promises Jeremiah royal protection as long as he remains silent. The prophet departs unheeded, and waits.
What a burden is Zedekiah's: "You shall cause this city to be burned with fire." The fate of Jerusalem rests on the king's decision, on a person whose feet are "sunk in the mire." The times demand a courageous leader resolved to obey God, able to make and implement decisions, yet the king appears almost catatonic—paralyzed with fear, as one in a nightmare, trying desperately to flee disaster but unable to move. His only action, it appears, is to retire into the relative—and temporary—safety of his palace. There, like Jeremiah, he waits.
Charles Whitaker
Servant of God, Act One: Going Around, Coming Around