The basic time frame of “the first year of the reign of Zedekiah” is around 598 BCE. Babylonian invaders had already made significant inroads into Judah by the time Zedekiah took the throne, and because he was installed by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar as a sort of regional puppet ruler, things only went downhill from there. During Zedekiah’s eleven-year reign, many prophets, including Jeremiah, tried to get the people of Jerusalem to repent of their sins and turn back to God so the city would not be destroyed. Their message was not very well received.