Old Testament · Jeremiah

Jeremiah 34

A Prophecy against Zedekiah

1The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD—when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms of the land of the dominion of his hand and all the peoples were fighting against Jerusalem and against all its cities—saying: 2Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Go, and you shall speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and you shall say to him: Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire; 3and you, you will not escape from his hand, for you will surely be seized, and into his hand you will be given; and your eyes will see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and his mouth will speak with your mouth, and to Babylon you will go.

4Only, hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah: Thus says the LORD concerning you: You will not die by the sword; 5in peace you will die; and like the burnings of your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will burn for you, and "Ah, lord!" they will lament for you; for I have spoken the word, declares the LORD.

6And Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah all these words in Jerusalem, 7when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left—against Lachish and against Azekah; for these remained among the cities of Judah, fortified cities.

Freedom for Hebrew Slaves

8The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after King Zedekiah cut a covenant^a with all the people who were in Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty to them, 9that each man^b should send away his servant and each man his maidservant, the Hebrew man and the Hebrew woman, free—so as not to make them serve^c, namely a Jew, his brother, a man. 10And all the princes and all the people who had entered into the covenant listened, to send away each man his servant and each man his maidservant free, so as not to make them serve any more; and they listened and sent them away. 11But afterward they turned and caused the servants and the maidservants whom they had sent away free to return, and they subdued them for servants and for maidservants.

12And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying: 13Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I, I cut a covenant with your fathers in the day I brought them out from the land of Egypt, from the house of servants, saying: 14At the end of seven years you shall send away each man his brother the Hebrew who is sold to you and has served you six years, and you shall send him away free from you; but your fathers did not listen to me and did not incline their ear.

15And you turned today and did what is right in my eyes, to proclaim liberty each man to his neighbor; and you cut a covenant before me in the house upon which my name is called. 16But you turned and profaned my name, and you caused to return each man his servant and each man his maidservant whom you had sent away free to their soul^d; and you subdued them to be for you for servants and for maidservants.

17Therefore thus says the LORD: You, you have not listened to me, to proclaim liberty each man to his brother and each man to his neighbor; behold, I am proclaiming for you liberty, declares the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

18And I will give the men who transgressed my covenant, who did not establish the words of the covenant which they cut before me—the calf which they cut in two and passed between its parts: 19the princes of Judah and the princes of Jerusalem, the officials, and the priests, and all the people of the land, who passed between the parts of the calf; 20and I will give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their soul; and their corpse will be for food for the bird of the heavens and for the beast of the earth. 21And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes I will give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their soul, and into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon that has gone up from upon you.

22Behold, I am commanding^e, declares the LORD, and I will bring them back to this city, and they will fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire; and the cities of Judah I will make a desolation without inhabitant.