Jeremiah 34:1-22

VIN(i) 1 the LORD spoke his word to Jeremiah when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, his entire army, and all the kingdoms and people that he ruled were attacking Jerusalem and all its cities. This is what he said: 2 "This is what the LORD the God of Israel says: 'Go to King Zedekiah of Judah, and tell him, the LORD says: "I am going to hand this city over to the king of Babylon. He will burn it down. 3 "You will not escape from him. You will certainly be captured and handed over to him. You will see the king of Babylon with your own eyes, and he will talk to you face to face. Then you will go to Babylon. 4 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah: thus says the LORD concerning you, 'You shall not die by the sword; 5 You will die peacefully, and as they burned fires for your ancestors, the former kings who were before you, so they'll burn fires for you, wailing, "Oh how terrible, your majesty!"' For I've spoken the word," declares the LORD. 6 Then Jeremiah the prophet said all these things to Zedekiah, king of Judah, in Jerusalem, 7 while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah that were left, namely Lachish and Azekah. (They were the only fortified cities that remained among the cities of Judah.) 8 The Word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after King Zedekiah had cut a covenant with all the people at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty to them, 9 Everyone was supposed to free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female. No one was supposed to keep another Jew as a slave. 10 All the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant agreed that each would set his male and female slaves free so that they would not enslave them any longer. They obeyed and they released them. 11 Later they changed their minds and took back the men and women they had freed and made them their slaves again. 12 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 13 "This is what the LORD God of Israel says: 'I made a covenant with your ancestors on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. I told them: 14 "Every seven years each of you must free any Hebrews who sold themselves to you. When they have served you for six years, you must set them free. But your ancestors refused to obey me or listen to me. 15 You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming release for one another, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name. 16 But then you turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves whom you had set free according to their desire, and you forced them to become male and female slaves."' 17 "Therefore, this is what the LORD says: 'You haven't obeyed me by each of you proclaiming a release for your brothers and neighbors. Now I'm going to proclaim a release for you,' declares the LORD, 'a release to the sword, to plague, and to famine, and I'll make you a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 I'll give over the men who transgressed my covenant, who haven't fulfilled the terms of the covenant that they made before me when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts 19 the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land, who passed between the parts of the calf; 20 I'll give them to their enemies who are seeking to kill them, and their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the land. 21 I will hand King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials over to their enemies who want to kill them and to the army of the king of Babylon, the army that has withdrawn from you.' 22 "'I am going to give a command,' declares the LORD. 'I will bring that army back to this city to attack it, capture it, and burn it down. I will destroy the cities of Judah so that no one will live there.'"