This section probably contains two originally separate parts (vv. 10 and 11-12).
22:10 Jeremiah instructed the people not to mourn over Josiah, who had died in battle with the Egyptians, as much as they should mourn over those who had gone into captivity. Pharaoh Necho II had deposed Jehoahaz and had taken him captive to Egypt (2 Kings 23:31-35).306The fate of the people and Jehoahaz was worse than Josiah's because they would remain alive but never be able to return to the Promised Land. In one sense death is worse than life, but in another sense life under certain conditions is worse than death.
22:11-12 King Shallum (Jehoahaz) was a case in point. The Egyptians had taken him captive, and he would never return to the Promised Land. Jeremiah prophesied that he would die in captivity, which he did as the first ruler of Judah to die in exile (cf. 2 Kings 23:34).
