Jeremiah 34

1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the country ruled by his power, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all its cities, saying,

The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all of his army, together with all the kingdoms of the earth, the domains under his power, and all their people were waging war against Jerusalem and all of her cities, saying:

2 Thus hath said the Lord, the God of Israel, Go and speak to Zedekiah the king of Judah, and say to him, Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will give up this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, that he may burn it with fire:

“Yahweh, God of Israel, says this: Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him, 'Yahweh says this: Look, I am about to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon. He will burn it.

3 And thou thyself shalt not escape out of his hand; but thou shalt surely be caught, and be delivered into his hand; and thy eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and his mouth shall speak with thy mouth, and to Babylon shalt thou go.

You will not escape from his hand, for you will certainly be seized and given into his hand. Your eyes will look at the eyes of the king of Babylon; he will speak directly to you as you go to Babylon.'

4 Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah, Thus hath said the Lord respecting thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword:

Listen to the word of Yahweh, Zedekiah king of Judah! Yahweh says this concerning you, 'You will not die by the sword.

5 In peace shalt thou die; and as burnings were made for thy fathers, the former kings who were before thee, so shall they make burnings for thee; and “Ah lord” shall they lament for thee; for I have spoken the word, saith the Lord.

You will die in peace. As in the funeral burning of your ancestors, the kings who were before you, they will burn your body. They will say, “Woe, master!” They will lament for you. Now I have spoken—this is Yahweh's declaration.'”

6 And Jeremiah the prophet spoke unto Zedekiah the king of Judah all these words in Jerusalem,

So Jeremiah the prophet proclaimed to Zedekiah king of Judah all these words in Jerusalem.

7 When 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 had been left of the cities of Judah as fortified cities.

The army of the king of Babylon made war against Jerusalem and all the remaining cities of Judah: Lachish and Azekah. These cities of Judah remained as fortified cities.

8 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, after king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem, to proclaim among themselves freedom;

The word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem, to proclaim freedom to them,

9 That every man should dismiss his man-servant, and every man his maid-servant, being a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, free; so that no man among them should exact labor of a Jew, his brother.

that each man must free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female, so one was to make a slave of a Jew, who was his brother.

10 And all the princes had hearkened, with all the people, who had entered into the covenant, that every one should dismiss his man-servant, and every one his maid-servant, free, that no one should exact labor of them any more: and they had obeyed, and dismissed them.

So all the leaders and people entered into the covenant that each person would free his male and female slaves so that they would not be enslaved any longer. They obeyed and set them free.

11 But they had turned afterward, and they had brought back the men-servants and the maid-servants whom they had dismissed as free, and had subjected them to become men-servants and maid-servants.

But after this they changed their minds. They brought back the slaves whom they had freed. They forced them to become slaves again.

12 And the word of the Lord [then] came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

So the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying,

13 Thus hath said the Lord, the God of Israel, —I myself made a covenant with your fathers on the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying,

“Yahweh, God of Israel, says this, 'I myself made a covenant with your ancestors on the day that I brought them out from the land of Egypt, out from the house of slavery. That was when I said,

14 At the end of seven years shall ye dismiss every man his brother the Hebrew, who may have been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, then shalt thou dismiss him from thee; but your fathers hearkened not unto me, and inclined not their ear.

“At the end of every seven years, each man must send away his brother, his fellow Hebrew who had sold himself to you and served you for six years. Send him away in freedom.” But your ancestors did not listen to me or incline their ears to me.

15 And ye had turned this day, and done what is right in my eyes, to proclaim freedom every man to his neighbor; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house over which my name is called;

Now you yourselves repented and began to do what is right in my eyes. You proclaimed freedom, each man to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name.

16 But ye have turned again, and profaned my name, and ye have brought back every man his man-servant, and every man his woman-servant, whom ye had dismissed as free at their pleasure, and have subjected them to be unto you for men-servants and for women-servants.

But then you turned and polluted my name; you caused each man to bring back his male and female slaves, the ones whom you had sent out to go where they wished. You forced them to become your slaves again.'

17 Therefore thus hath said the Lord, Ye indeed have not hearkened unto me, to proclaim freedom, every one to his brother, and every one to his neighbor: behold, I proclaim a freedom over you, saith the Lord, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you a horror unto all the kingdoms of the earth.

Therefore Yahweh says this, 'You yourselves have not listened to me. You should have proclaimed freedom, every one of you, to your brothers and fellow Israelites. So look! I am about to proclaim freedom to you—this is Yahweh's declaration—freedom for the sword, the plague, and famine, for I am going to make you a horrible thing in the sight of every kingdom on earth.

18 And I will give up the men that have transgressed my covenant, who have not fulfilled the words of the covenant which they had made before me, at the calf which they cut in twain, and between the parts whereof they passed,

Then I will deal with the people who have broken my covenant, who did not keep the words of the covenant that they established before me when they cut a bull in two and walked between its parts,

19 The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the court-servants, and the priests, and all the people of the land, who have passed between the parts of the calf;

and then the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the eunuchs and the priests, and all the people of the land walked between the parts of the bull.

20 [Yea] I will give them up into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life; and their dead bodies shall become food unto the fowls of the heavens, and to the beasts of the earth.

I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who are seeking their lives. Their bodies will be food for the birds of the skies and the beasts on the earth.

21 And Zedekiah the king of Judah and his princes will I give up into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life, and into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, that are [now] gone away from you.

So I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his leaders into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who are seeking their life, and into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon that has risen up against you.

22 Behold, I will command, speaketh the Lord, and I will bring them back to this city; and they shall fight against it, and capture it, and burn it with fire: and the cities of Judah will I make a desert without an inhabitant.

Look, I am about to give a command—this is Yahweh's declaration—and will bring them back to this city to wage war against it and take it, and to burn it. For I will turn the cities of Judah into ruined places in which there will be no inhabitants.'”