Jeremiah 34:12-22

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 1made a covenant with your forefathers on the day that I 2brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, saying, 14“3At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who 4has been sold to you and has served you for six years, and you shall send him out free from you.” But your forefathers 5did not obey Me nor incline their ear to Me. 15Although recently you had turned and 6done what is right in My sight, each one proclaiming 7release to his neighbor, and you had 8made a covenant before Me 9in the house which is called by My name. 16Yet you 10turned and 11profaned My name, and each person 12took 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 13release, each one to his brother and each to his neighbor. Behold, I am 14proclaiming a 15release to you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to the 16sword, to the plague, and to the famine; and I will make you a 17terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18I will give the people who have 18violated My covenant, who have not fulfilled the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they 19cut the calf in two and passed between its parts-- 19the 20officials 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 21seek their lives. And their 22dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the earth. 2123Zedekiah 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 24withdrawn 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 25take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a 26desolation 27without inhabitant.’”