Jeremiah 34

A Prophecy against Zedekiah

1The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when 1Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, with 2all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his 3control and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem and all its cities, saying, 2“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘4Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, 5I am handing this city over to the king of Babylon, and 6he will burn it with fire. 3And as for you, 7you will not escape from his hand, for you will assuredly be caught and handed over to him; and you will 8see the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you 9face to face, and you will go to Babylon.’”’ 4Yet hear the word of the Lord, Zedekiah king of Judah! This is what the Lord says concerning you: ‘You will not die by the sword. 5You will die in peace; and as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will 10burn spices for you; and 11they will mourn for you, crying, “Oh, my lord!”’ For I have spoken the word,” declares the Lord.

6Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke 12all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem 7when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and all the remaining cities of Judah, that is, 13Lachish and 14Azekah, for they alone remained as 15fortified cities among the cities of Judah.

8The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had 16made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem, to 17proclaim 18release to them: 9that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, a 19Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, so that 20no one would keep them, his Jewish brother or sister, in bondage. 10And all the 21officials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, so that no one would keep them in bondage any longer; they obeyed, and set them free. 11But afterward they turned around and took back the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male servants and as female servants.

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 22made a covenant with your forefathers on the day that I 23brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, saying, 14“24At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who 25has been sold to you and has served you for six years, and you shall send him out free from you.” But your forefathers 26did not obey Me nor incline their ear to Me. 15Although recently you had turned and 27done what is right in My sight, each one proclaiming 28release to his neighbor, and you had 29made a covenant before Me 30in the house which is called by My name. 16Yet you 31turned and 32profaned My name, and each person 33took back his male servant and each his female servant whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your male and female servants.’

17“Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming 34release, each one to his brother and each to his neighbor. Behold, I am 35proclaiming a 36release to you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to the 37sword, to the plague, and to the famine; and I will make you a 38terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18I will give the people who have 39violated My covenant, who have not fulfilled the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they 40cut the calf in two and passed between its parts-- 19the 41officials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem, the high officials and the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf-- 20I will hand them over to their enemies and to those who 42seek their lives. And their 43dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the earth. 2144Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will also hand over to their enemies and to those who seek their lives, and to the army of the king of Babylon which has 45withdrawn from you. 22Behold, I am going to give a command,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring them back to this city, and they will fight against it and 46take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a 47desolation 48without inhabitant.’”