Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 34:4

"Yet hear the word of Jehovah, O Zedekiah king of Judah: thus saith Jehovah concerning thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword;" — Jeremiah 34:4 (ASV)

Thou shalt not die by the sword. —The tone is one of comparative mildness, the motive apparently being the wish to persuade the king to abandon his useless resistance, and to court the favor of the conqueror. His going to Babylon would not necessarily shut him out from a life of comparative ease and an honorable burial. Jeconiah, it is true, had been thrown into prison (Jeremiah 51:31), and remained there during the whole reign of Nebuchadnezzar, but that was the result of his obstinate resistance, and Zedekiah might avert that doom by a timely submission.