Berean Standard Bible
Jeremiah 34:14
14Every 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.
Jeremiah 34:14 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.
- New International Version (NIV)‘Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you six years, you must let them go free.’ Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay attention to me.
- English Standard Version (ESV)'At the end of seven years each of you must set free the fellow Hebrew who has been sold to you and has served you six years; you must set him free from your service.' But your fathers did not listen to me or incline their ears to me.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“At the end of seven 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.
Context of Jeremiah 34:14
12Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 13“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: 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. 15Recently 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. 16But 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.
Read all of Jeremiah 34Jeremiah 34:14 word by word
מִקֵּ֣ץ שֶׁ֣בַע שָׁנִ֡ים תְּֽשַׁלְּח֡וּ אִישׁ֩ אֶת־אָחִ֨יו הָעִבְרִ֜י אֲשֶֽׁר־יִמָּכֵ֣ר לְךָ֗ וַעֲבָֽדְךָ֙ שֵׁ֣שׁ שָׁנִ֔ים וְשִׁלַּחְתּ֥וֹ חָפְשִׁ֖י מֵֽעִמָּ֑ךְ וְלֹֽא־שָׁמְע֤וּ אֲבֽוֹתֵיכֶם֙ אֵלַ֔י וְלֹ֥א הִטּ֖וּ אֶת־אָזְנָֽם׃Read the interlinear
- Everyקֵץqêts · endH7093
- seventhשֶׁ֫בַעsheba‛ shib‛âh · sevenH7651
- yearשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
- eachאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
- ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
- of you must freeשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: let goH7971
- his Hebrewעִבְרִי‛ibrîy · HebrewH5680
- brotherאָח'âch · brother: compatriotH251
- whoאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
- has sold himselfמָכַרmâkar · to sellH4376
- He may serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serveH5647
- you sixשֵׁשׁshêsh shishshâh · sixH8337
- freeחׇפְשִׁיchophshîy · freeH2670
- ·מֵעִם‛im · from withH5973
- But your fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
- But your fathersאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
- But your fathersלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
- listenשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- or inclineנָטָהnâţâh · to stretchH5186
- their earאֹ֫זֶן'ôzen · earH241
Cross-references for Jeremiah 34:14
- Jeremiah 34:8After King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim liberty, the word came to Jeremiah from the LORD
- Exodus 21:1“These are the ordinances that you are to set before them:
- Exodus 23:10For six years you are to sow your land and gather its produce,
- Deuteronomy 15:12If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you must set him free.
- 1 Kings 9:22But Solomon did not consign any of the Israelites to slavery, because they were his men of war, his servants, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and cavalry.
- 2 Chronicles 28:10And now you intend to reduce to slavery the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem. But are you not also guilty before the LORD your God?
- Isaiah 58:6Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke?
- Amos 2:6This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Israel, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals.
- Amos 8:6Let us buy the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the chaff with the wheat!”
- 1 Kings 21:25(Surely there was never one like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, incited by his wife Jezebel.
- Isaiah 50:1This is what the LORD says: “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of My creditors did I sell you? Look, you were sold for your iniquities, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
- Romans 7:14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.
- Jeremiah 7:25From the day your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets again and again.
- Jeremiah 11:8Yet they would not obey or incline their ears, but each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart. So I brought on them all the curses of this covenant I had commanded them to follow but they did not keep.”
- Jeremiah 32:30For the children of Israel and of Judah have done nothing but evil in My sight from their youth; indeed, they have done nothing but provoke Me to anger by the work of their hands, declares the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 8:7And the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 34:14
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8-22Verses 8-22 It is usual with commentators to say that, the laws dealing with the emancipation of the Hebrew slaves, as also that of the land resting during the sabbatical year, were not observed. The narrative teaches us the exact contrary. The manumission of the slaves on the present occasion was the spontaneous act of Zedekiah and the people. They knew of the law, and acknowledged its obligation. The observance of it was, no doubt, lax: the majority let…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-22Verses 8-22 A Jew should not be held in servitude above seven years. This law they and their fathers had broken. And when there was some hope that the siege was raised, they forced the servants they had released into their services again. Those who think to cheat God by dissembled repentance and partial reformation, put the greatest cheat upon their own souls. This shows that liberty to sin, is really only liberty to have the sorest judgments. It is just…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-22Zedekiah told the people to free their slaves. He wanted to gain favor with God by following the covenant rules about Hebrew slave ownership (Exodus 21:2–4). These rules had been ignored since the time of Moses. However, the order was useless because the people soon broke this new promise. They had also broken their agreement with Nebuchadnezzar (see Ezekiel 21:23–24) and their original covenant with the Lord. The Lord would punish them for their betrayal.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1414. At the end of seven years--that is, not on the eighth year, but within the limit of the seventh year, not later than the end of the seventh year (Ex 21:2; 23:10; De 15:12). So "at the end of three years" (De 14:28; 2Ki 18:10), and "after three days, I will rise again" (Mt 27:63), that is, on the third day (compare Mt 27:64).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 34:14
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 34
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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