Jeremiah 34
1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, when Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his
dominion, and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem, and against all
the cities thereof, saying:
2 Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Go, and speak to Zedekiah king of
Judah, and tell him, Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will give this city into the
hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:
3 and thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and
delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of
Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to
Babylon.
4 Yet hear the word of Jehovah, O Zedekiah king of Judah: thus saith Jehovah
concerning thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword;
5 thou shalt die in peace; and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former
kings that were before thee, so shall they make a burning for thee; and they
shall lament thee, [saying], Ah Lord! for I have spoken the word, saith Jehovah.
6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in
Jerusalem,
7 when the king of Babylon's army was fighting against Jerusalem, and against
all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and against Azekah; for
these [alone] remained of the cities of Judah [as] fortified cities.
8 The word that came unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, after that the king Zedekiah
had made a covenant with all the people that were at Jerusalem, to proclaim
liberty unto them;
9 that every man should let his man-servant, and every man his maid-servant,
that is a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, go free; that none should make bondmen of them,
[to wit], of a Jew his brother.
10 And all the princes and all the people obeyed, that had entered into the
covenant, that every one should let his man-servant, and every one his
maid-servant, go free, that none should make bondmen of them any more; they
obeyed, and let them go:
11 but afterwards they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom
they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants
and for handmaids.
12 Therefore the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,
13 Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: I made a covenant with your fathers in
the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of
bondage, saying,
14 At the end of seven years ye shall let go every man his brother that is a
Hebrew, that hath been sold unto thee, and hath served thee six years, thou
shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither
inclined their ear.
15 And ye were now turned, and had done that which is right in mine eyes, in
proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbor; and ye had made a covenant before
me in the house which is called by my name:
16 but ye turned and profaned my name, and caused every man his servant, and
every man his handmaid, whom ye had let go free at their pleasure, to return;
and ye brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for
handmaids.
17 Therefore thus saith Jehovah: ye have not hearkened unto me, to proclaim
liberty, every man to his brother, and every man to his neighbor: behold, I
proclaim unto you a liberty, saith Jehovah, to the sword, to the pestilence, and
to the famine; and I will make you to be tossed to and fro among all the
kingdoms of the earth.
18 And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, that have not
performed the words of the covenant which they made before me, when they cut the
calf in twain and passed between the parts thereof;
19 the princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the
priests, and all the people of the land, that passed between the parts of the
calf;
20 I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of
them that seek their life; and their dead bodies shall be for food unto the
birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the earth.
21 And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their
enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of
the king of Babylon's army, that are gone away from you.
22 Behold, I will command, saith Jehovah, and cause them to return to this city;
and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will
make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.