Jeremiah 34
34
Zedekiah Warned by God
1The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, #2 Kin. 25:1; Jer. 32:1, 2; 39:1; 52:4when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, #Jer. 1:15; 25:9; Dan. 2:37, 38all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem and all its cities, saying, 2“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Go and #2 Chr. 36:11, 12; Jer. 22:1, 2; 37:1, 2speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, #2 Kin. 25:9; Jer. 21:10; 32:3, 28I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. 3And #2 Kin. 25:4, 5; Jer. 21:7; 52:7–11you shall not escape from his hand, but shall surely be taken and delivered into his hand; your eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, he shall speak with you #2 Kin. 25:6, 7; Jer. 32:4; 39:5, 6face to face, and you shall go to Babylon.’ ” ’ 4Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the Lord concerning you: ‘You shall not die by the sword. 5You shall die in peace; as in #2 Chr. 16:14; 21:19the ceremonies of your fathers, the former kings who were before you, #Dan. 2:46so they shall burn incense for you and #Jer. 22:18lament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!” For I have pronounced the word, says the Lord.’ ”
6Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem, 7when the king of Babylon’s army fought against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and Azekah; for only #2 Kin. 18:13; 19:8; 2 Chr. 11:5, 9these fortified cities remained of the cities of Judah.
Treacherous Treatment of Slaves
8This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem to proclaim #Ex. 21:2; Lev. 25:10; Neh. 5:1–13; Is. 58:6; Jer. 34:14, 17liberty to them: 9#Neh. 5:11that every man should set free his male and female slave—a Hebrew man or woman—#Lev. 25:39–46that no one should keep a Jewish brother in bondage. 10Now when all the princes and all the people, who had entered into the covenant, heard that everyone should set free his male and female slaves, that no one should keep them in bondage anymore, they obeyed and let them go. 11But afterward they changed their minds and made the male and female slaves return, whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male and female slaves.
12Therefore the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 13“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I made a #Ex. 24:3, 7, 8; Deut. 5:2, 3, 27; Jer. 31:32covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying, 14“At the end of #Ex. 21:2; 23:10; Deut. 15:12; 1 Kin. 9:22seven years let every man set free his Hebrew brother, who has been sold to him; and when he has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you.” But your fathers did not obey Me nor incline their ear. 15Then you recently turned and did what was right in My sight—every man proclaiming liberty to his neighbor; and you #2 Kin. 23:3; Neh. 10:29made a covenant before Me #Jer. 7:10in the house which is called by My name. 16Then you turned around and #Ex. 20:7; Lev. 19:12profaned My name, and every one of you brought back his male and female slaves, whom you had set at liberty, at their pleasure, and brought them back into subjection, to be your male and female slaves.’
17“Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and every one to his neighbor. #Lev. 26:34, 35; Esth. 7:10; Dan. 6:24; (Matt. 7:2; Gal. 6:7); James 2:13Behold, I proclaim liberty to you,’ says the Lord—#Jer. 32:24, 36‘to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine! And I will deliver you to #Deut. 28:25, 64; Jer. 29:18trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth. 18And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when #Gen. 15:10, 17they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it— 19the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf— 20I will #2 Kin. 25:19–21; Jer. 22:25give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their #Deut. 28:26; 1 Sam. 17:44, 46; 1 Kin. 14:11; 16:4; Ps. 79:2; Jer. 7:33; 16:4; 19:7dead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth. 21And I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army #Jer. 37:5–11; 39:4–7which has gone back from you. 22#Jer. 37:8, 10Behold, I will command,’ says the Lord, ‘and cause them to return to this city. They will fight against it #Jer. 38:3; 39:1, 2, 8; 52:7, 13and take it and burn it with fire; and #Jer. 9:11; 44:2, 6I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.’ ”
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Jeremiah 34: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 34
34
A Message for Zedekiah
1 #
2 Kgs 25.1–11; 2 Chr 36.17–21 The LORD spoke to me when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia and his army, supported by troops from all the nations and races that were subject to him, were attacking Jerusalem and its nearby towns. 2The LORD, the God of Israel, told me to go and say to King Zedekiah of Judah, “I, the LORD, will hand this city over to the king of Babylonia, and he will burn it down. 3You will not escape; you will be captured and handed over to him. You will see him face to face and talk to him in person; then you will go to Babylonia. 4Zedekiah, listen to what I say about you. You will not be killed in battle. 5You will die in peace, and as people burnt incense when they buried your ancestors, who were kings before you, in the same way they will burn incense for you. They will mourn over you and say, ‘Our king is dead!’ I, the LORD, have spoken.”
6Then I gave this message to King Zedekiah in Jerusalem 7while the army of the king of Babylonia was attacking the city. The army was also attacking Lachish and Azekah, the only other fortified cities left in Judah.
Deceitful Treatment of Slaves
8King Zedekiah and the people of Jerusalem had made an agreement to set free 9their Hebrew slaves, both male and female, so that no one would have a fellow-Israelite as a slave. 10All the people and their leaders agreed to free their slaves and never to enslave them again. They did set them free, 11but later they changed their minds, took them back, and forced them to become slaves again.
12Then the LORD, 13the God of Israel, told me to say to the people: “I made a covenant with your ancestors when I rescued them from Egypt and set them free from slavery. I told them that 14#Ex 21.2; Deut 15.12every seven years they were to set free any Hebrew slave who had served them for six years. But your ancestors would not pay any attention to me or listen to what I said. 15Just a few days ago you changed your minds and did what pleased me. All of you agreed to set your fellow-Israelites free, and you made a covenant in my presence, in the Temple where I am worshipped. 16But then you changed your minds again and dishonoured me. All of you took back the slaves whom you had set free as they desired, and you forced them into slavery again. 17So now, I, the LORD, say that you have disobeyed me: you have not given your fellow-Israelites their freedom. Very well, then, I will give you freedom: the freedom to die by war, disease, and starvation. I will make every nation in the world horrified at what I do to you. 18-19The officials of Judah and of Jerusalem, together with the palace officials, the priests, and all the leaders, made a covenant with me by walking between the two halves of a bull that they had cut in two. But they broke the covenant and did not keep its terms. So I will do to these people what they did to the bull. 20I will hand them over to their enemies, who want to kill them, and their corpses will be eaten by birds and wild animals. 21I will also hand over King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials to those who want to kill them. I will hand them over to the Babylonian army, which has stopped its attack against you. 22I will give the order, and they will return to this city. They will attack it, capture it, and burn it down. I will make the towns of Judah like a desert where no one lives. I, the LORD, have spoken.”
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.