EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Jeremiah 34:14
14I told them, “When any Hebrew slave has worked for you for six years, you must let them go free. In the seventh year after they sold themselves to you, you must set them free.” But your ancestors did not listen to me. They did not obey me.
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 Lord said to Jeremiah, 13‘The Lord, Israel's God, says this to the people: I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt. They had been slaves when they were there. I told them, “When any Hebrew slave has worked for you for six years, you must let them go free. In the seventh year after they sold themselves to you, you must set them free.” But your ancestors did not listen to me. They did not obey me. 15But now, you yourselves agreed to do what pleases me. You decided to obey me. You made a serious agreement with me in the temple which is my home. You let your slaves go free. 16But now you have turned back to your old ways. You have refused to give me honour. You had let your slaves go free, as they wanted to do. But now you have forced them to work for you as your slaves again.
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
Words taken from the KJV.
- At the endקֵץqêts · endH7093
- of sevenשֶׁ֫בַעsheba‛ shib‛âh · sevenH7651
- yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
- let ye goשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: let goH7971
- every manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
- his brotherאָח'âch · brother: compatriotH251
- an Hebrewעִבְרִי‛ibrîy · HebrewH5680
- which hath been soldמָכַרmâkar · to sellH4376
- unto thee; and when he hath servedעָבַד‛âbad · to serveH5647
- thee sixשֵׁשׁshêsh shishshâh · sixH8337
- freeחׇפְשִׁיchophshîy · freeH2670
- from thee: but your fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
- hearkenedשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- not unto me, neither inclinedנָטָהnâţâh · to stretchH5186
- their earאֹ֫זֶן'ôzen · earH241
Cross-references for Jeremiah 34:14
- Jeremiah 34:8At another time, the Lord gave Jeremiah another message for King Zedekiah. Zedekiah had made an agreement with the people of Jerusalem. They all agreed to let their slaves go free.
- Exodus 21:1These are the laws that you must put in front of the Israelites:
- Exodus 23:10You must plant seed in your fields for six years. Then you can bring your crops home at harvest time.
- Deuteronomy 15:12You may buy another Israelite to be your servant, a man or a woman. Let that servant work for you for six years. Then in the seventh year, you must let him go free.
- 1 Kings 9:22But Solomon did not make any of the Israelites do the hard work. Instead, they served him as his soldiers, government officers and army officers. Some of the soldiers drove chariots and some were leaders of the chariot drivers.
- 2 Chronicles 28:10Now you want to use the men and women from Judah and Jerusalem as your slaves. So you yourselves are guilty of sins against the Lord your God.
- Isaiah 58:6This is the way that I want you to fast: You must remove the chains from prisoners who should not be in prison. You must stop being cruel to the people who work for you. You must let people who are in pain go free. You must break the yoke of work that is too hard for weak people.
- Amos 2:6The Lord says, ‘The people in Israel have done more and more wrong things. So I will certainly punish them. They sold people that did not do wrong things. They sold them for silver. And they sold poor people for only the price of shoes.
- Amos 8:6When poor people cannot pay their debts, you buy them as your slaves. You pay a silver coin to buy them, which would not even buy a pair of shoes. You also mix dust with the grain that you sell.
- 1 Kings 21:25Ahab had decided to do everything that the Lord said was evil. He was more wicked than any other person who had lived. His wife Jezebel helped him to be like that.
- Isaiah 50:1This is what the Lord says to his people: ‘Did I send your mother away, like a man sends away his wife? Where is the paper to say why I have sent her away? Did I sell you to pay people that I was in debt to? Where is the paper that shows the reason for my debt? Listen! I sold you because of your sins. I sent your mother away because you have not obeyed me.
- Romans 7:14We understand that God's Law is spiritual. But I am weak and human. I am like a slave that has sin as my master.
- Jeremiah 7:25Since the time that your ancestors left Egypt, I have sent my servants, the prophets to speak to you. I have continued to do that many times, even until now.
- Jeremiah 11:8But they did not listen to me. They did not agree to obey my covenant. Instead, they continued to do all the wicked things that they wanted to do. They would not change how they lived. So I punished them in the way that the covenant said they deserved. I had commanded them to obey the rules of the covenant, and they did not do that.” ’
- Jeremiah 32:30The people of Israel and Judah have continued to do things that I see are evil. They have done those things since they were a young nation. They have always done things that make me angry. That is what the Lord says.
- 1 Samuel 8:7The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to everything that the people are saying to you. I myself should be their king. So it is not you that they refuse to accept. It is me that they do not accept to be 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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