Jeremiah 34
34
A Message for Zedekiah
1The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and all his army, with all the kingdoms of the earth under the dominion of his hand, and all the peoples were fighting against Jerusalem and against all its cities, saying,#Literally “to say” 2“Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: ‘Go and say to Zedekiah the king of Judah, now you must say to him, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘Look, I am going to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire. 3And you will not escape from his hand, but surely you will be captured, and into his hand you will be given, and you will see the king of Babylon eye to eye,#Literally “your eyes shall see with the eyes of the king of Babylon” and you will speak face to face with him,#Literally “his mouth shall speak with your mouth” and to Babylon you will go.’ 4However, hear the word of Yahweh, O Zedekiah, the king of Judah. Thus says Yahweh concerning you: ‘You will not die by the sword. 5In peace you will die, and as there was burning for your ancestors,#Or “fathers” the former kings who were before you,#Literally “to the face of you” so they will burn for you, and they will lament for you, “Alas, lord!” For the word I have spoken,’ declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.” ’ ” 6Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Zedekiah the 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 over—Lachish and Azekah, for these remained among the cities of Judah, the cities of fortification.
Zedekiah’s Covenant Concerning Slaves
8The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh after king Zedekiah made#Literally “cut” a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to proclaim release to them, 9to let go each one his male slave and each one his female slave, the Hebrew and the free Hebrew, so that no one among the Judeans#Hebrew “Judean” should enslave his fellow countryman. 10And all the officials and all the people obeyed, who had entered into the covenant to let go each one his male slave and each one his female slave, not enslaving them again, and they obeyed and they let them#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation go. 11But afterward#Literally “after thus” they turned back and they brought back the male slaves and the female slaves whom they had let go free, and they subdued them as male slaves and female slaves.
12And the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying,#Literally “to say” 13“Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: ‘I made#Literally “cut” a covenant with your ancestors#Or “fathers” on the day of my bringing them out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves, saying,#Literally “to say” 14“At the end of seven years you must let go each one his fellow countryman, the Hebrew who has been sold to you and who has served you six years, and you must let him go free from you.” But your ancestors#Or “fathers” did not listen to me, and they did not incline their ears.#Hebrew “ear” 15And you turned back recently#Literally “the day” and you did right in my eyes, to proclaim release each one to his neighbor, and you made#Literally “cut” a covenant before me#Literally “to the face of me” in the house that is called by#Literally “on it” my name. 16But you turned back and you profaned my name when you brought back each one his male slave and each one his female slave, whom you had let go free according to their desire, and you subdued them to be to you as male slaves and as female slaves.’
17“Therefore#Literally “To thus” thus says Yahweh, ‘You have not listened to me to proclaim release each one to his fellow countryman and each one to his neighbor. Look, I am going to proclaim to you a release,’ declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh, ‘to the sword, to the plague, and to the famine, and I will make you a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18And I will make the men who transgressed my covenant, who have not kept the words of the covenant that they made#Literally “cut” before me,#Literally “to the face of me” like the calf which they cut in two and they passed between its parts— 19the officials of Judah, and the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, 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 the seekers of their lives, and their dead bodies#Hebrew “dead body” will become as food for the birds#Hebrew “bird” of the heavens#Or “sky” and for the animals#Hebrew “animal” of the earth. 21And Zedekiah the king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of the seekers of their lives, and into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, who retreated from you. 22Look, I am going to command,’ declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh, ‘and I will bring them back to this city, and they will fight against it, and they will capture it, and they will burn it with fire, and the towns of Judah I will make a desolation without#Literally “from there is not” an inhabitant.’ ”
Currently Selected:
Jeremiah 34: LEB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
2010 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
Jeremiah 34
34
1This is the Lord's message that came to Jeremiah when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, all his army, along with troops from all the countries he ruled and other nations were attacking Jerusalem and all its nearby towns:
2This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Go and talk to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him that this is what the Lord says: Listen! I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he is going to burn it down. 3You yourself won't escape being captured by him. You will certainly be taken prisoner and brought before him to speak with him personally and see him face to face. You will be taken to Babylon.
4Listen to what the Lord is telling you, Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what the Lord says about you: You won't be killed; 5you will die in peace. You will have a proper funeral with incense burned for you as they did for your forefathers, the kings who ruled before you. They will weep for you, crying, “The king is dead.” I myself am telling you this, declares the Lord.
6Jeremiah the prophet told Zedekiah king of Judah all this there in Jerusalem. 7At that time the king of Babylon's army was attacking the city and the Judean towns of Lachish and Azekah. These were the only fortified cities that had not yet been conquered in Judah.
8A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah after King Zedekiah had made a agreement with everyone in Jerusalem to announce a proclamation of freedom. 9This meant that every slave owner should free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female. No one was to force their fellow citizens to remain slaves any longer. 10All the officials and all the people who accepted this agreement did what they said. They freed their male and female slaves, not forcing them to remain slaves any longer. They obeyed and let them go free. 11However, later on they changed their minds and took back the male and female slaves they'd freed, forcing them back into slavery.
12A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 13This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made an agreement with your forefathers when I led them out of Egypt, out of the prison house of slavery, saying: 14Every seventh year, each of you must set free all fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. They can serve you for six years, but then you must set them free. But your forefathers didn't pay attention and didn't obey what I told them.
15A little while ago you decided to do what's right, which made me happy. You all announced that you would free your slaves. You made an agreement before me in my Temple. 16But now you've changed your minds and dishonored me. Each of you took back the male and female slaves you'd set free to do whatever they wanted. You forced them to become your slaves again.
17So this is what the Lord says: You haven't obeyed me. You haven't announced freedom for your slaves, your own people. So now I announce “Freedom” for you, declares the Lord: Freedom to be killed by war, by disease, and by famine! I will make all the kingdoms of the world horrified by you.
18They have broken my agreement, and have not kept the terms of the agreement they promised before me. So I'm going to cut them up just like the calf they cut in half to pass between its two pieces.#34:18. This refers to the way in which an agreement was made. See Genesis 15. 19I will hand them over to their enemies who are trying to kill them. This includes the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests, and everyone else who passed between the pieces of the calf. 20Their dead bodies will become food for birds of prey and wild animals. 21I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials to their enemies who are trying to kill them, to the army of the king of Babylon which has paused its attack on you.#34:21. The Babylonian army left Jerusalem temporarily to deal with an advancing Egyptian army. This had led the leaders of Jerusalem to believe that the danger had passed, and that the Egyptian army would help them. See Jeremiah 37.
22Listen! I will give the order, declares the Lord, and bring them back to Jerusalem. They will attack it, capture it, and burn it. I'm going to destroy the towns of Judah so nobody will live there.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com