New International Version
Jeremiah 34:14
14‘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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)I told them that every Hebrew slave must be freed after serving six years. But your ancestors paid no attention to me.
Context of Jeremiah 34:14
12Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I said, ‘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. 15Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to your own people. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name. 16But now you have turned around and profaned my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become 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 34:8The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom for the slaves.
- Exodus 21:1“These are the laws you are to set before them:
- Exodus 23:10“For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops,
- Deuteronomy 15:12If any of your people—Hebrew men or women—sell themselves to you and serve you six years, in the seventh year you must let them go free.
- 1 Kings 9:22But Solomon did not make slaves of any of the Israelites; they were his fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and charioteers.
- 2 Chronicles 28:10And now you intend to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves. But aren’t you also guilty of sins against the Lord your God?
- Isaiah 58:6“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
- Amos 2:6This is what the Lord says: “For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not relent. They sell the innocent for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals.
- Amos 8:6buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat.
- 1 Kings 21:25(There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife.
- 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? Because of your sins you were sold; because of 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 time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets.
- Jeremiah 11:8But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.’ ”
- Jeremiah 32:30“The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth; indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but arouse my anger with what their hands have made, declares the Lord.
- 1 Samuel 8:7And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; 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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