Jeremiah 34

1 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:

The word which came to 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 nations, made war against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying: —

2 “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.

Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Go and speak to Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and say to 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 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.'

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

Yet hear the word of Jehovah, O Zedekiah, king of Judah! Thus saith Jehovah concerning thee: Thou shalt not die by the sword;

5 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.'”

in peace shalt thou die; and according to the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings, who were before thee, so shall they burn for thee; and they shall lament for thee, saying, “Ah, lord!” for I have spoken the word, saith Jehovah.

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

And Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words to Zedekiah, king of Judah, at Jerusalem.

7 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.

And the army of the king of Babylon fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah; for these fortified cities remained of the cities of Judah.

8 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,

The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people that were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty to them,

9 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.

that every one should let his man-servant or his maid-servant, being a Hebrew or Hebrewess, go free, that no one should retain his brother, a Jew, in servitude.

10 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.

And all the princes, and all the people, who had entered into covenant to let every one his man-servant and every one his maid-servant go free, and retain them in servitude no longer, obeyed; they obeyed, and let them go.

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

But they returned afterwards, and took back the men-servants and the maid-servants whom they had let go free, and brought them into subjection as men-servants and as maid-servants.

12 So the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying,

Then came the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,

13 “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,

Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: I made a covenant with your fathers in the day when I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, and said,

14 “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.

“At the end of seven years ye shall let go every man his brother, a Hebrew, who shall have been sold to thee; when he shall have served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee.” But your fathers hearkened not to me, nor inclined their ear.

15 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.

And when ye had turned at this time, and had done what was right in mine eyes, in proclaiming liberty every one to his neighbor, and had entered into a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name,

16 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.'

then ye returned and profaned my name, and took back every one his man-servant, and every one his maid-servant, whom he had set at liberty at their pleasure, and brought them into subjection to be men-servants and maid-servants to you.

17 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.

Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Ye have not hearkened to me in proclaiming liberty every one to his brother, and every one to his neighbor. Behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith Jehovah, to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine, and I will give you up to oppression in all the kingdoms of the earth;

18 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,

and I will make the men who have transgressed my covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before me, like the calf which they cut in twain, and passed between the parts thereof,

19 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.

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 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.

I will give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life; and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.

21 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.

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, even into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which are gone up from you.

22 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.'”

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 an inhabitant.