Jeremiah 34

1 The word that hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah — and Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his force, and all kingdoms of the land of the dominion of his hand, and all the peoples are fighting against Jerusalem, and against all its cities — saying:

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, all his army, all the earthly kingdoms under his control, and all the other nations were fighting against Jerusalem and all its surrounding cities.

2 'Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel: Go, and thou hast spoken unto Zedekiah king of Judah, and hast said unto him, Thus said Jehovah: Lo, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he hath burned it with fire,

The LORD, the God of Israel, told Jeremiah to go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him that this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I am about to deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down.

3 and thou, thou dost not escape out of his hand, for thou art certainly caught, and into his hand thou art given, and thine eyes see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and his mouth with thy mouth speaketh, and Babylon thou enterest.

And you yourself will not escape his grasp, but will surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You will see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face; and you will go to Babylon.

4 'Only, hear a word of Jehovah, O Zedekiah king of Judah, Thus said Jehovah unto thee: Thou dost not die by sword,

Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what the LORD says concerning you: You will not die by the sword;

5 in peace thou diest, and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings who have been before thee, so they make a burning for thee; and Ah, lord, they lament for thee, for the word I have spoken — an affirmation of Jehovah.'

you will die in peace. As spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who preceded you, so people will burn spices for you and lament, ‘Alas, O master!’ For I Myself have spoken this word, declares the LORD.”

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

In Jerusalem, then, Jeremiah the prophet relayed all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah

7 and the forces of the king of Babylon are fighting against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that are left — against Lachish, and against Azekah, for these have been left among the cities of Judah, cities of fortresses.

as the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and the remaining cities of Judah—against Lachish and Azekah. For these were the only fortified cities remaining in Judah.

8 The word that hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, after the making by the king Zedekiah of a covenant with all the people who [are] in Jerusalem, to proclaim to them liberty,

After King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim liberty, the word came to Jeremiah from the LORD

9 to send out each his man-servant, and each his maid-servant — the Hebrew and the Hebrewess — free, so as not to lay service on them, any on a Jew his brother;

that each man should free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female, and no one should hold his fellow Jew in bondage.

10 and hearken do all the heads, and all the people who have come in to the covenant to send forth each his man-servant and each his maid-servant free, so as not to lay service on them any more, yea, they hearken, and send them away;

So all the officials and all the people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their menservants and maidservants and no longer hold them in bondage. They obeyed and released them,

11 and they turn afterwards, and cause the men-servants and the maid-servants to return, whom they had sent forth free, and they subdue them for men-servants and for maid-servants.

but later they changed their minds and took back the menservants and maidservants they had freed, and they forced them to become slaves again.

12 And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying:

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

13 'Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I — I made a covenant with your fathers in the day of My bringing them forth from the land of Egypt, from a house of servants, saying,

“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your forefathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, saying:

14 At the end of seven years ye do send forth each his brother, the Hebrew, who is sold to thee, and hath served thee six years, yea, thou hast sent him forth free from thee: and your fathers hearkened not unto Me, nor inclined their ear.

Every seventh year, each of you must free his Hebrew brother who has sold himself to you. He may serve you six years, but then you must let him go free. But your fathers did not listen or incline their ear.

15 'And ye turn back, ye to-day, and ye do that which is right in Mine eyes, to proclaim liberty each to his neighbour, and ye make a covenant before Me in the house over which My name is called.

Recently you repented and did what pleased Me; each of you proclaimed freedom for his neighbor. You made a covenant before Me in the house that bears My Name.

16 And — ye turn back, and pollute My name, and ye cause each his man-servant and each his maid-servant, whom he had sent forth free, (at their pleasure, ) to return, and ye subdue them to be to you for men-servants and for maid-servants.

But now you have changed your minds and profaned My name. Each of you has taken back the menservants and maidservants whom you had set at liberty to go wherever they wanted, and you have again forced them to be your slaves.

17 'Therefore, thus said Jehovah: Ye have not hearkened unto Me to proclaim freedom, each to his brother, and each to his neighbour; lo, I am proclaiming to you liberty — an affirmation of Jehovah — unto the sword, unto the pestilence, and unto the famine, and I have given you for a trembling to all kingdoms of the earth.

Therefore this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed Me; you have not proclaimed freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. So now I proclaim freedom for you, declares the LORD—freedom to fall by sword, by plague, and by famine! I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

18 'And I have given the men who are transgressing My covenant, who have not established the words of the covenant that they have made before Me, by the calf, that they have cut in two, and pass through between its pieces —

And those who have transgressed My covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before Me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two in order to pass between its pieces.

19 heads of Judah, and heads of Jerusalem, the officers, and the priests, and all the people of the land those passing through between the pieces of the calf —

The officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the pieces of the calf,

20 yea, I have given them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those seeking their soul, and their carcase hath been for food to the fowl of the heavens, and to the beast of the earth.

I will deliver into the hands of their enemies who seek their lives. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.

21 'And Zedekiah king of Judah, and his heads, I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those seeking their soul, and into the hand of the forces of the king of Babylon, that are going up from off you.

And I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials into the hands of their enemies who seek their lives, to the army of the king of Babylon that had withdrawn from you.

22 Lo, I am commanding — an affirmation of Jehovah — and have brought them back unto this city, and they have fought against it, and captured it, and burned it with fire, and the cities of Judah I do make a desolation — without inhabitant.'

Behold, I am going to give the command, declares the LORD, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it down. And I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”